Lost and Found
by coffee-not-decaf
Summary: Ianto Jones can't remember two years of his life. Neither can Jack Harkness. Who can be responsible but the Doctor? AU, companion!Ianto, Jack/Ianto, and Eleven/River.
1. Prologue: Cardiff, Wales

**So I have submitted myself to eternal pain and torture by joining the Doctor Who/Torchwood fandom. The only possible conclusion to this tragic twist of events was to write a crossover between the two. I may die during the writing process. Who knows with these shows?**

**Anyway, I really love AU stories where one of the Torchwood characters is the Doctor's companion, and there aren't very many of them. Therefore, I decided to create this story. Canon at some points, AU at others, I'm not really sure what anyone is going to make of this. I hope you enjoy, though!**

**Rated T for swearing, sexual innuendos, violence, character death, slash, and the mere fact that Captain Jack Harkness is a character. **

**Pairings: Jack/Ianto and Eleven/River**

**Disclaimer: I am not responsible for your endless heartache. That responsibility lies with Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat. I am not to be blamed for their misdeeds. **

**Sticking with DW canon up until The Snowmen, and I don't know how canonical this will be in terms of the Torchwood timeline. We'll have to see. **

_Prologue: Torchwood Hub, Cardiff, Wales, 21__st__ Century_

"Is that a _short-sleeved shirt _that you're wearing today, Ianto Jones? I didn't think you owned one."

Ianto turned away from the bubbling coffee machine in front of him to greet Jack's smiling face. The aforementioned man was grinning almost maniacally, eyes flickering up and down, though constantly focused on Ianto's bare arms. Ianto almost rolled his eyes – He knew that this was going to happen from the moment he put the shirt on this morning. He almost regretted it. Almost. And it wasn't like Jack hadn't seen him in short sleeves before - Jack just liked being melodramatic.

"Suits were at the cleaners," he shrugged his shoulders. "Had to make do somehow."

"Glad you chose this as the appropriate way," Jack said, still grinning taking a step forward to lean against the countertop. "You should wear that shirt more often."

Ianto hid a smile as he poured the newly created coffee into five different cups, one for each of his coworkers and for himself. "Wouldn't want you to get too excited, now would we?"

"Morning Jack, Ianto!" Tosh poked her head into the room, smiling, before changing her expression to one of confusion. "Hey, you're not wearing a suit."

Ianto really did roll his eyes this time. "It's not a law that I have to wear a suit every day, you know."

"What, Ianto isn't wearing a suit?" Gwen's voice rang out as she strode into the room fully, past Toshiko so that she was standing immediately in front of both Ianto and Jack. Her eyes widened as she saw that Tosh's previous statement was correct. Ianto wondered how he got stuck with such overdramatic idiots for coworkers. At least he could count on Owen not to react; or, if he did react, in a subtle and not shell-shocked way.

"Yes, I am not wearing a suit," Ianto picked up two cups of the hot, caffeinated liquid from the table, handing one to Gwen, and the other to Tosh, who had entered the room fully now. "Shocking, I know."

Tosh frowned as she reached forward to take her coffee cup in her small, dainty hands. "Is that a scar on your arm?"

"What?" Ianto glanced down at his arms, only to see the slash mark on his elbow was being displayed prominently to both Tosh and Gwen. The thing was so old he'd nearly forgotten about it. Since joining Torchwood, he'd gotten quite a few scars, but this was the only one that he had received since before he had even begun getting involved in alien affairs. "Oh, yeah, it is."

"I've been meaning to ask you wear that came from," Jack had taken his own coffee off the table without Ianto's consent, and was now drinking it calmly. "Never really got around to it."

Ianto shrugged. "I couldn't tell you, since I really don't know myself."

Jack set his coffee back on the table, a crease in his brow. "You don't know?"

"I know I received it sometime between age nineteen and twenty-one," Ianto took his own coffee form the table now as well, relishing in the bitter taste. The only cup left belonged to Owen, who was, as usual, late. He probably had another hangover.

"Well, that's a broad spectrum," Tosh said.

"Not my fault I can't remember anything about those two years," Ianto ignored the incredulous glances of his coworkers as he took a sip of his coffee. Hmm. Not as good as yesterday's. Perhaps he'd added too much sugar.

"You can't remember anything?" Gwen nearly choked on her drink.

"From age nineteen to twenty-one?" Jack's cerulean eyes were wide. Ianto almost chuckled. He'd managed to catch everyone off-guard quite a bit, hadn't he?

"I've honestly never told you this story before?" The other three shook their heads, still staring at him. "Well, it's not much of a story. Just after I turned nineteen, I was staying with my sister and her husband for a couple of weeks. I went out one night and never came back. Two years later, I appeared at her doorstep again, unconscious, with the only mark on me being this scar. I couldn't recall anything about what had happened."

"You're full of shit."

It appeared Owen had finally entered the premises. Ianto rolled his eyes as he passed the shorter man his coffee.

"Not lying," Ianto said. "I honestly have no idea where I was or what I was doing during those two years."

"No way in hell is that the truth," Owen took a long sip of the caffeine, most likely to dispel the hangover that Ianto was nearly positive he had. "Unless you were retconned, which I highly doubt. Besides, can retcon even erase a whole two years?"

"It can if it's an overly large dose," Jack's eyes were curiously roaming Ianto's face now, and everyone was still staring at him. Ianto fidgeted uncomfortably. He loathed being the center of attention in any sort of group setting; the main reason for his contributions to conversation being pretty much only little-known knowledge or sarcastic comments. "Did you even know what retcon was back then?"

Ianto shook his head. "Started working for Torchwood One just before I turned twenty-three."

"So you're honestly telling us that you just don't have two years of your memories?" Owen asked, making direct eye contact with Ianto, the other man's eyes boring directly into his own. Ianto swallowed.

"Nope, absolutely nothing," Ianto took another sip of his coffee. His friends remained staring at him. "What? I don't know!"

"And you never thought there was anything suspicious about that?" Jack turned to face him more directly. "That you couldn't recall a whole two years of…of your life…" He trailed off, eyes staring off into the distance vacantly, as if seeing something that wasn't there. Ianto was accustomed to this kind of behavior from Jack. Uncomfortably aware of Tosh, Gwen, and Owen's presence, he touched Jack's shoulder gently.

"Jack? You okay?"

Jack's eyes snapped back to Ianto's a second later, wide and, in a way, fearful. "I can't remember two years of my life, either."

Ianto looked at his lover, puzzled. He glanced over at the others, whose expressions reflected his own. "Well, you've lived a long time. It's to be expected that you can't remember everything."

"No, seriously," Jack said, fear creeping into his tone. "It was before I became immortal. Two years of my memory were erased – Completely gone."

"Well…" Ianto was momentarily stumped. "How can the instances be connected? You were born thousands of years after me. They're completely different sets of years."

"The thing is," Jack swallowed hard, and gripped Ianto's hand in his own, though not in a romantic way. His fingernails were digging into Ianto's skin and it felt as if Ianto was the only thing holding Jack to reality. "Is that I used to have the same scar, in the same place. And I don't know how it got there."


	2. The Snowmen Part 1

**So this will start in kind of an episode format and move on from there. Still not sure which direction the story will go on, but I hope you'll enjoy whatever choice I make. And without further ado…**

_The Snowmen_

_London, 1892_

In the dimly lit pub that cold December night, oh so very long ago, all inhibitions were lost upon the wild inhabitants so willing to cause a ruckus. The entire building was a haze of drunken men and pretty serving girls, and as the night progressed, it was getting harder and harder to tell which was which.

The Doctor rather liked it that way.

He didn't often come to pubs, of course. Mainly he just stayed up in the air, in his TARDIS, occasionally coming down to the earth just to find some purpose other than moping. But just because he didn't spend all of his time cooped up in the blue box in the air, it wasn't to be taken to mean that he would be coming out of retirement.

Because he wouldn't. Not now, not ever, despite his friends' most valiant efforts. And they were commendable, really, but the efforts on the parts of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax were fruitless. With his beloved Ponds gone, there really was no point in continuing on. It would only end in further pain and suffering, both for him and for the rest of the universe at large.

Tonight, though, was one of those nights, the ones where he couldn't stop thinking about things he should have said or done, things that could have saved his loved ones. His Amy, his Rory, and all those that had come before them. Too much dwelling on these subject matters led to his need to escape, even if just for a quick drink.

Strax, of course, insisted on tagging along. The stupid little bugger had trailed him insistently ever since he'd arrived. Sometimes, he wasn't so bad, but other times the Doctor just wanted to throttle him, which would be quite difficult, seeing as how the shape of his head made it nearly impossible for someone's hands to fit around his nonexistent neck. He was waiting outside now, in the carriage, seeing as how the people of the nineteenth century might be just a tad in shock to see an obviously otherworldly creature in front of them. Or perhaps they were too drunk off their faces to even care.

"What can I get you, sir?"

The Doctor turned his attention to the bartender, a young man who couldn't have been more than thirty, with sharp blue eyes and a certain accent to his voice that the Doctor couldn't yet place. He was looking at the Doctor expectantly – Oh, right, yes, he was supposed to order now. He'd nearly forgotten.

"Ale," said the Doctor after a moment's hesitation. "A pint."

"Coming right up," the man behind the counter smiled at him. He had a rather nice smile, the Doctor noticed. His mouth had quirked upward slightly, showing off pearly whites, before disappearing just as quickly. Hmm. Well, at least the Doctor could place his accent now. It was distinctly Welsh. It made the Doctor wonder what a Welshman was doing working at a London pub.

"Here you are." A tall glass was placed in front of him, blocking his view. The Welshman gave him another half-smile from behind the bar.

"Thank you," the Doctor took a sip of sweet liquid. He waited a moment, but the man standing behind the counter didn't leave. He just remained staring at him, looking curious. The Doctor frowned.

"Sorry, do I know you?" The Welshman was frowning as well. "I feel as if I recognize you from somewhere."

"Nope," the Doctor said immediately. "Must be someone else." As far as he knew, that was the truth. But he'd visited this time period before. Actually, he may have started a riot in this time period before, so it was probably best to avoid anyone who would recognize him from that particular instance. That was a fun riot. Amy had…Amy. Damn it. He was thinking about Amy again.

"That's a curious accent you have," the Doctor returned his attention to the bartender with the nice smile. "Welsh, isn't it?"

"Yes," He nodded in affirmation. "Moved to London a couple of months ago."

"Can I ask why?" The Doctor couldn't help being curious. He rather liked talking to people, even if he wasn't saving their lives anymore.

The man shrugged. "Came with my sister after my parents passed away."

"My condolences," the Doctor took another a look at his glass of ale before downing it in one fluid motion. Ah, how he needed that. Setting the bottle back on the table, he pushed himself up out of his seat. "Good night, Mister…?"

"Jones," the man said. "Ianto Jones."

"Good night, Jones, Ianto Jones," the Doctor tipped his hat to the bartender, who's lips parted in that little half-smile once again. Maneuvering his way through a group of older drunken gentlemen falling over one another due to their inebriation, the Doctor made it out the creaking wooden doorway and into the snowy, frozen night.

Pulling his jacket more tightly around his shoulders in an attempt to block out the harsh winter winds, the Doctor meandered down the sidewalk, looking for Strax and the carriage. He knew they had to be around here somewhere. Oh, that's right! The carriage was resting in the alley between the pub and the neighboring bookstore. Turning on his heel, he located the correct alleyway. Or at least, what he thought was the correct alleyway. He was probably wrong, but it couldn't hurt to check.

He treaded through the snow as he felt the newly formed flakes melt against his body heat. His average temperature was a bit higher than a human's, around ninety-nine degrees, and therefore, the elements usually had the same effects on him. The wind whistled through the streets, and the Doctor heard a door creak open behind him.

He turned just a fraction of an inch to see a door that led back into the pub, probably a back door for employees to exit and enter the building, swinging open. A person appeared from behind it, a man who shut the door quickly and quietly and turned out to face the street. It was only then that the Doctor recognized him – The bartender with the smile. Jones, Ianto Jones.

Not in the mood to speak to him again, the Doctor turned away and kept walking down the snowy street. The sound of the man's voice startled him.

"Excuse me, but did you make that snowman?"

The Doctor didn't remember seeing a snowman when he had passed through, but yet he didn't turn around. "No," he answered, purposefully not turning around to face the other man.

"That's odd," Ianto continued talking, and despite the Doctor's want to just walk away, he still listened to the Welsh vowels issuing from the man's mouth. "It just appeared there a moment ago."

Now _that _caught the Doctor's attention. He turned around and, just as Ianto Jones had said, there was a snowman standing there, not three feet behind where the Doctor had just passed moments before. Definitely not there before. He gave Ianto a quick glance and saw the flicker of recognition in the Welshman's eyes. The Doctor pulled his horn-rimmed glasses out of his pocket; he slid the lenses onto his nose as he leaned over to inspect the mysterious snowman.

_Ah._

"Hmmm…" He examined the white figure. He had been seeing these things around for quite a while now, each and every one of them the same. The old Doctor would have investigated. Him? No. Though he had to admit it was a bit curious. "Same snow as before. It must remember how to make snowmen."

"Snow that can remember?" Ianto sounded quite confused. The Doctor felt a rustle of fabric to his left and realized that the other man had stepped up next to him and was now examining the snowman as well. The Doctor purposefully inched away. "That's impossible."

"And what's wrong with impossible?"

Ianto gave him that quirky half-smile again. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Oh, the Doctor liked this one. It was a shame he couldn't do anything about it. Instead, he smiled back at the man in the same way he was becoming so accustomed to, and turned away, purposefully taking longer strides than usual.

"Oi!" The Doctor glanced back at the sound of Ianto's voice. "You didn't even give me your name. I'd think it would be polite and all, seeing how you have mine."

"Those were the days, Jones, Ianto Jones," the Doctor said sadly, looking down at the quickly piling snow on the ground. "Those were the days."

One last time, the Doctor turned on his heel, hurrying through the cold streets of London. He rather did like this Jones fellow, but that was beside the point. It was cold, he was tired, and he needed to find his ride.

It didn't take him long to locate Strax. Apparently, he had found the wrong street. The one he had left Strax at was one alley over. Just his luck, of course. And in keeping with the theme of the night, there was a call from Vastra immediately as he pulled himself inside the warm confines of the carriage.

"It's nice to see you taking an interest again," Vastra's voice echoed throughout the space. The Doctor rolled his eyes at her comment. Of course she saw. Jenny was probably there, in the alley, spying. While the Doctor usually appreciated his friends, sometimes they could be a bit much. "What was his name?"

"I just talked to him for five minutes," the Doctor ignored her question and looked up at the sound box issuing the lizard woman's voice, wishing he could speak to her face to face just so he could properly convey his annoyance.

"And made your usual impact, I presume?"

"No, no, not at all," the Doctor wondered why Strax wasn't joining in on the commentary yet. Usually, the potato head was the first person to make a comment about anything. After himself, of course. Though not so much now, he supposed.

"Come on, Doctor, it always starts the same way, with the same two words," Vastra sounded amused. The Doctor was fast becoming impatient.

"He'll never be able to find me again," he glared up at the box, for even though he knew Vastra couldn't see him, it still gave him a sense of self-satisfaction. "He doesn't even have the name 'the Doctor.'"

Suddenly, a slightly familiar voice with a Welsh accent wafted back to him from the front of the carriage. "Doctor who?"


	3. The Snowmen Part 2

**Hello again. Thank you for reading, whoever is out there. The Snowmen will be continuing now for a few chapters. I'm thinking four or five. Hopefully you'll still manage to stick around until we get to the completely-AU adventures. **

**Also, some dialogue here is blatantly ripped off of the actual episode. Just a forewarning. Enjoy!**

"What the…How the hell… Ianto Jones?"

Ianto smiled to himself from the front seat of the carriage. This man – The Doctor, he had said a moment before – Sounded reasonably surprised. Ianto liked catching people off-guard. It was one of the ways he entertained himself on a daily basis. People always had certain expectations of him, and he simply loved proving them wrong.

The creature, whatever he was, that had been seated in the driver's seat of the carriage, swiveled his entire body to look at Ianto, complete shock registering on his features. Ianto had been considerably shocked himself upon seeing the creature when he first snuck into the carriage, but managed to keep his surprise quietly contained as he kept himself out of the thing's sight.

Besides, it would have been rude to comment. It could be a genetic disorder or something, though Ianto suspected that wasn't the case. He could always be Turkish, Ianto mused. Well, whatever he was, he was rather thick not to have noticed Ianto before now. Of course, his lack of perception could be excused by the fact that it didn't seem as if he couldn't turn his head.

"Hello – Doctor, was it?" Ianto said, still eying the creature a mere foot from him. "Nice to see you again."

"What the hell are you doing here? In my _carriage_?" Doctor-something's voice rang out.

"I needed a ride!" Ianto called back. "I live a mile from the pub and it's nearly Christmas. I wasn't going _walk_."

"So you snuck into my carriage?" The man's voice was incredulous. "And Strax, you idiot! Why didn't you tell me he was there?"

"I didn't see him!" The thing, Strax, called back, indignant. "Very clever little human."

Human. Something that this Strax obviously wasn't. Ianto was glad that was cleared up, even though it didn't make him feel much better about the subject.

"Get out of the carriage!" This doctor fellow sounded reasonably annoyed, which Ianto supposed he had the right to. A near stranger _had _snuck into his carriage without permission. But Ianto really had needed a ride.

Sighing, Ianto swung open the door and stepped out into the cold night. Shivering as the snowflakes hit his bare skin, he pulled his jacket more tightly around his shoulders. This doctor was getting out of the backseat, looking mildly peeved off. Judging by the other slam of a door, the whatever-it-was, Strax, had exited the relative warmth of the carriage as well.

The doctor stood up straight, staring at Ianto intently, his light grey eyes boring into Ianto's own blue ones. Ianto couldn't help but be a bit nervous. Swallowing hard, he did his best to look as if he was harmless. He wasn't sure if it was working, though.

After a few moments, the man looked down. Ianto was about to open his mouth to apologize when he began to speak. "You're clever. Would you mind stepping inside the carriage for a moment?"

Confused, Ianto frowned. "Ah…may I ask why?"

Doctor-something looked at him, amusement registering on his childish, rounded features. "I'd like to speak with you, and it might be nicer to do so somewhere that's not freezing."

"Erm, I suppose so," Ianto took a tentative step toward the back door of the carriage, glancing at the doctor man, who nodded at him in what appeared to be reassurance. Opening the door, Ianto hesitantly stepped inside.

_Wham! _The door slammed shut behind him. Turning, surprised, Ianto, yanked at the handle. No such luck. The blasted doctor had locked him in! Sighing in frustration, he tried the other door. His luck persisted. Muttering obscenities under his breath, Ianto banged at the door.

"Doctor!" He called, annoyance growing in his tone. "Doctor, let me out! Doctor!"

Ianto _hated _being outsmarted.

Kneeling to the ground, the Doctor touched the soft, white powder that was presently dusting the streets. Taking some of the snow in his hand and examining it, he smiled to himself.

"They're taking samples from snowmen all over London," Strax's voice echoed from behind him. He had been examining Doctor Simeon through his goggles, had been for a few minutes now. The Doctor had expected this. "What do you suppose they're doing?"

"This snow is new," The Doctor said in response, entirely ignoring the other being's question. "And possibly alien. When you find something brand new in the world, something you've never seen before, what do you look for next?"

A moment passed before Strax answered, confidence in his voice, "A grenade."

The Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes. Strax and his ilk, the Sontarans, really needed to cease the battlefield talk. It got rather annoying after a time. "A profit. That's Victorian values for you, of course." Standing up, he dusted the snow off of his coat.

"I suggest a full-front attack with lasers, scalpel-binds, and acid," Strax sounded rather excited at the prospect.

The Doctor, on the other hand, simply raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well…Couldn't we just investigate?" Strax had the nerve to look _hopeful. _Honestly, the Doctor's friends had far too much faith in him. He was not going to be coming out of retirement. Ever.

"What would be the point? It's not any of our business."

"May I express my opposition to your current apathy?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes once more. "If that would make you happy."

"Sir, I am opposed to your current apathy."

"And if I ever need advice from a _psychotic, potato dwarf_," The Doctor said, advancing upon the Sontaran, glaring profusely at him as he towered over the creature, "You will be the first to know."

"But if the snow is new and alien, shouldn't we make an attempt to destroy –"

The Doctor, annoyed, cut Strax off with a finger to his lips. Enunciating clearly so that perhaps Strax could understand him, he stated, "It. Is. Not. Our. Problem. Over a thousand years of saving the universe, Strax, and I've only just learned that the universe doesn't care."

It was only then that the Doctor became aware that the carriage was cursing at him.

"_Doctor! You bastard, let me out of here! Damn you to hell! Doctor!"_

Jones, Ianto Jones had quite the mouth on him, at least for this century. The man was intriguing, that was for certain. Not very many people could successfully sneak onto the Doctor's carriage. It probably helped that Strax was a bit of an idiot, of course, but Ianto was commendable all the same, even if this turn of events irked the Doctor to no end.

Turning away from Strax, he muttered, "And we have our own little problem to take care of."

Grimacing, the Doctor strode over to the carriage, and pulled the door open to reveal a rather annoyed-looking Ianto Jones glaring at him through cerulean eyes. "It's about time."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, and he actually meant it. "But don't worry. We won't hurt you."

Ianto looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Really? Because a person usually doesn't lock another person in their carriage without any explanation. Or, for that matter, lock another person in a carriage_ with_ an explanation. I'd consider this a precursor to whatever plan you have up your sleeve for me. And I've been wanting to ask this, but _what are you_?"

That last part was obviously directed at Strax, as Ianto was looking at him through wide, curious eyes. Strax stood up straighter, obviously offended.

"Quiet, girl!"

Ianto looked at him incredulously as the Doctor rolled his eyes once more. Honestly! "That's Strax, and as you can see, he is obviously confused." He glared down at the Sontaran. "He's a _man_, you idiot."

"Quiet, _man_!" Strax corrected himself. Ianto just continued staring, glancing between Strax and the Doctor, obviously confused out of his wits.

"He's a Sontaran, don't bother listening to anything he says," the Doctor shook his head. "They're clones, factory-produced – Whole legions of them. And two genders are a bit further than they can count."

"Do not discuss my race in the presence of enemy men," Strax sent Ianto a furtive glance. The Doctor just smiled quietly at Ianto.

"Typical middle child of six billion."

Ianto almost smiled back, shocking the Doctor a bit. He was thinking that all this talk of races would make the boy afraid of him, but no such luck. "Who are you?" The Welshman asked, with curiosity prominent in his voice. "You said you were a doctor earlier. I heard you."

"That doesn't matter," the Doctor shook his head sadly. He did like this boy, and in the old days, the adventures the two of them could have had would have been legendary. But this wasn't the time for the Doctor to be a legend, this was the time to sit back quietly and watch the world spin on without him. "Soon you're going to forget you ever met." Turning to Strax, he informed him, "We'll need the worm."

"Of course," Strax said, nodding his head and making a quick retreat. Ianto, on the other hand, sat up straighter, glancing back and forth between the Doctor and the retreating figure of Strax, eyes wide.

"What's the worm?" He asked, fear and dread in his tone.

"It won't hurt you," the Doctor made an attempt at reassurance. "But one touch of it on your bare skin and an hour of your memory will vanish."

"Like Retcon?"

The Doctor's attention snapped into full, his hearts racing a mile a minute. Gaping at Ianto, he managed to get out "What?"

"So it works like…Retcon?" The man asked hesitantly, looking at the Doctor with a note of concern in his eyes, though the Doctor chose not to see it. All he could think was _he knows what Retcon is, he knows was Retcon is, he knows what Retcon is…_

"How do you know that term?" His eyes locked with Ianto's. "No one knows that term. Even in two hundred years, only a few select people will know that term!"

Ianto shrunk back, obviously fearful of the Doctor's sudden intensity. "I…I read it in a book somewhere…"

"What book?" the Doctor was nearly shaking in anticipation. But…retirement…He cursed under his breath. He wouldn't investigate. He couldn't. But he _had _to know what nineteenth century book could possibly have Retcon mentioned in it.

"My…my sister is a governess for the Latimer family," Ianto said hesitantly. "I visit there sometimes, to see her. And the children like me. And one day I was looking through the library. I don't remember the title of the book it was in. But it just said something about a substance called Retcon removing particular memories from a person's head. I thought it was most likely fiction, otherwise it would be more commonly known, wouldn't it?"

He looked at the Doctor for confirmation, but all that the Doctor could think was _Retcon, Torchwood, what the hell is going on here? _

The Doctor was distracted from his minor brain meltdown with the arrival of Strax, who was without the worm, despite his specific instructions.

"Where is it?" he asked, exasperated.

"Where is what, sir?"

The Doctor refrained from rolling his eyes once more. "I sent you to get the memory worm."

"Did you?" Strax asked, confused. "When? And who's she?"

If this wasn't proof that Strax was an idiot, the Doctor didn't know what was. Only he could forget to put the gauntlets on and erase his own memory.

Strax was still continuing on in his questions. "Where are we? Why are we here? Oh, look!" He glanced up at the sky. "It's been snowing."

"You didn't use the gauntlets, did you?" The Doctor sighed, exasperated.

"Why would I need the gauntlets? Oh, wait, did you want me to get the memory worm?" Strax asked. C

"Yes," the Doctor did his best not to sound sarcastic. "Yes, I did."

As Strax departed, the Doctor swung himself out of the carriage to follow. Best to be sure the Sontaran didn't screw up once more. Approaching the spot where Strax was kneeling down to the ground, the Doctor was made aware by the heavy footfalls behind him that Ianto had decided to follow the pair of them.

"Well, do you see it?" he asked, looking down at Strax.

"I think I can hear it," Strax said. The Doctor heard a soft chuckle from behind him, obviously coming from Ianto.

"Don't try to run away!" the Doctor turned around, cautioning him. "Stay where you are!"

"Why would I run?" Ianto laughed. "I know what happens next, and it's funny. Nice friend you have there."

"Don't insult him," the Doctor advanced upon the other man. Ianto was slightly taller than he was, and it was a bit off-putting, but he tried to ignore the fact the he couldn't glare down at him. "He gave his life for another friend of mine."

"Then how is he _still_ alive?" Ianto questioned.

"A different friend brought him back," the Doctor said by way of explanation, even though he knew perfectly well it would only confuse Ianto further. "Though I'm not sure his brains managed to make the return trip!" He glared over at the Sontaran, who was still under the carriage.

"Neither am I, to be honest," Ianto chuckled, and the Doctor almost chuckled as well, before remembering where he was and what had happened. It made him frown once more as he knelt next to Strax.

"Have you got it?"

"Got what?"

He had done it again. The Doctor was going to throttle him.

"These are the gauntlets, aren't they?" the Doctor turned to see Ianto holding up a pair of worn, black gloves with a cheek smile on his face. The Doctor sighed.

"Sir, emergency!" Strax cried. "I think I've been run over by a cab!"

The Doctor grabbed the gloves out of Ianto's hands. The old saying was true, he mused as he knelt next to Strax, grabbing the memory worm in one swift motion, with the gauntlets on, thank you very much. If you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself.

Holding the worm up to Ianto, he said "This is the memory worm. Once touch and an hour of memory is gone. Let it bite you and decades could be lost." Wrestling slightly with the creature, the Doctor managed to squeeze it into the glass jar sitting atop the carriage.

Glancing back, the Doctor noticed that Ianto was still there. Surprised, he smiled. "You're still not trying to run."

"I want to know how the snowman built itself," Ianto stated. "And I want to know why you reacted the way you did to the word Retcon. Once you explain those two instances, I'll run."

Oh, the Doctor did like him. Hiding a smile he knelt down so that he could help Strax up. The stupid little bugger still thought he was in mortal peril. "In regards to the snowmen, the snow has memories. It remembers things. A low level telepath, I'd guess…"

"Doctor!"

"What?" The Doctor pulled Strax to his feet at quickly at the sound of Ianto's terrified tone. Then he noticed.

Snowmen were appearing all around them, popping up one by one, rising from the freshly fallen snow like a phoenix from its ashes. The sinister expressions on their faces told the Doctor that these snowmen weren't going to be anything like Frosty. He let go of Strax – The Sontaran could take care of himself – And grabbed Ianto's shoulders. The young Welshman turned to face him, terror written all across his face.

"Ianto! Ianto listen to me!" The Doctor shook him slightly to make sure he was paying attention. "Were you thinking about them?"

Ianto nodded, eyes alight with fear. The Doctor cursed under his breath. This wasn't good. The snowmen directly responded to thoughts. "Don't do that! Stop thinking about them and they'll go away! That's what drew them here! They're feeding off our thoughts!"

"How the hell does that work?" Ianto yelled back. The Doctor shook him again as the snowmen drew closer.

"Imagine them melting! It's the only way that they'll leave! Imagine it, come on!"

Ianto screwed his eyes shut. The Doctor really hoped that the man was listening to his advice. Thankfully, a few moments later, the snow creatures had melted into puddles of water at their feet with a resounding _whoosh. _

"There you go!" The Doctor clapped Ianto on the back as the Welshman opened his eyes, gasping, looking incredulously around at the thin air that was formerly inhabited by the beasts of snow. "Now, if they show up again, you'll know how to fight them off."

"Unless I forget," Ianto gave the Doctor a shaky smile, different from his half-upturned one from earlier that night at the pub. The grin melted off the Doctor's face. He hadn't thought of that.

"A compromise, then," he decided, striding over to the carriage door and pulling it open with a flourish. Turning to the Sontaran, who, by the way, had been absolutely _useless, _he said, "Take him home, will you? Wherever he says." The potato-headed alien nodded in assent.

Looking back at Ianto, the Doctor kept talking. "Try to forget you ever met me, alright? Try to forget about Retcon as well, now that I think of it. It'll bring you nothing but trouble."

And it would. Torchwood was operating right now, and if the Doctor was correct, Jack Harkness was already under their command. Retcon wasn't a part of their system yet, of course – It would be invented until the 1960s. But Ianto was better safe than sorry.

"Have a merry Christmas," he smiled at Ianto as he said his parting words. The Welshman smiled back – The same smile from earlier. Now that was more like it. The Doctor could easily fall in love with that smile. It was quite a bit like Rory's smile…Damn it. He was thinking about Rory again.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Ianto said as he pulled himself into the carriage.

The Doctor turned away before he could see Strax pull the carriage away. Despite his pretending not to care, he really did wish Ianto could come with him. But no one would ever again be his companion. He would make sure of it.


	4. The Snowmen Part 3

**Sorry about the long wait, I'll try to update every weekend from now on. I did, however, work a lot on my Ianto character. He's pretty epic, just a forewarning. Hope you like the chapter, if you're still around. And pretty please leave me some feedback! Thanks for reading.**

Ianto had no idea what had possessed him that night. Normally, he had a mild-mannered outlook on life, preferring to examine instead of actually partake in his surroundings. Tonight, though – Tonight he had initiative, along with his overwhelming curiosity, and it was driving him to do things he would have never even considered doing normally.

Such as quickly and quietly sliding out of the opposite side of the carriage that the Doctor had left him at as the Sontaran, he believed the creature had been called, started pulling the horses into the street and away from the funny man with the strange title, a man who Ianto was overly intrigued by. He didn't know what drew him in about the man, other than the obvious, but he knew that he had to find out more. Ianto adored figuring out mysteries, and if there was ever a mystery in his own life, the Doctor would be it.

Landing a bit clumsily outside the carriage, he slipped the door shut before Strax could roll the carriage away, which he did a moment later. Watching the carriage move through the snowy streets of London without him made Ianto smile with self-satisfaction. Strax obviously wasn't a scholar, especially with the way the Doctor spoke of him. And the whole business with the memory worm – That had been mildly amusing, albeit confusing. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the supernatural occurrences that the night had brought him; he just knew that he needed to know more.

He glanced around the snowy street with the lamplights glowing dimly, casting shadows about the surroundings. He couldn't see the Doctor – Wait. Craning his neck, Ianto glimpsed a man striding away from the scene and toward the nearby park. The figure's head was bent low and Ianto could not see his features, but he had the same build and clothing of the Doctor, so he supposed this had to be the mysterious man.

Ianto made a split second decision that he was going to follow the man. His thirst for more information was overpowering; he hated the unknowing. His nature left him no choice but to follow the strange man with the strange friends and the snow that could remember.

Watching out for the snowmen, Ianto hurried his pace along, making sure that the Doctor was in his line of vision. He was going into the park – What the hell could his interest in the park be? Were there more snowmen there?

Making sure that he was far enough behind that the Doctor couldn't spot him even if he turned around, Ianto stealthily tracked him as the man headed deeper into the park, through the trees and the rest of the frozen landscape. He was ignoring the pathways entirely, walking in twisting and turning intricacies, confusing Ianto very much. What on earth was the point in doing that? Ianto had his answer as the Doctor suddenly came to a halt in the middle of a snowy patch. Ianto quickly ducked out of sight, hiding behind an old, gnarled tree.

The Doctor was reaching both of his hands up high into the night sky, reaching for some invisible thing – Ianto frowned, unsure of why this event was occurring. Suddenly, the Doctor seemed to get a grip on something, and with a pull, the bottom rungs of a ladder were being shuffled to the ground. Ianto stood, gaping over at the Doctor as he set the ladder onto the frosty ground. The top of the ladder was invisible to the naked eye – It seemed to go up and up into the clouds above.

Ianto's jaw dropped as the Doctor placed his feet onto the lowest step and began to climb up into the heavens. It wasn't long until the man was obscured by the fog settling in around them. He glanced about his person to make sure that the park was still deserted, and it was. Cautiously, he stepped out from behind the tree and padded through the winter wonderland toward the ladder.

He hesitated before touching the cool, hard metal. It was all so dream-like – What if touching the thing would cause him to awaken? Before he could change is mind, he gripped the ladder tightly with one hand. Thankfully, it did not vanish into thin air. Carefully, he placed his right foot on the bottom rung. It was still real. Swallowing his fear, Ianto stepped onto the ladder with his remaining foot. Now being completely supported by the mysterious ladder, Ianto began climbing.

As he rose higher and higher into the sky, Ianto's eyes traveled downward to the ground he had left far behind. He had almost reached the layer of clouds that would fully obscure the park from his line of sight. Deciding that it was too late to stop now, he turned back to the ladder and continued on his upward trek.

The moment he could no longer view the land, he hit what seemed to be a flat surface. Pulling himself up, he forced his legs onto what appeared to be the first step of a spiral staircase. Craning his neck upwards, Ianto saw that the staircase went on and on and into the heavens, with nothing suggesting it would ever cease. Openly gaping at his surroundings in amazement, Ianto's hands found the grips of the stairs, and he pulled himself along, still gazing about in absolute awe.

The spiral seemed to be never-ending, swirling up into the unforeseeable future. The snow continued shimmering all around Ianto, making the entire experience surreal and reminiscent of a fairytale. Looking to see where the stairs were going, Ianto finally noticed them breaking up, meters and meters above him, at what appeared to be another landing.

He hurried his pace along, but not so much that could endanger his life by slipping on the icy staircase. It definitely would not be a pleasant experience to fall from this great height. The frigid air was slowly becoming even colder. Ianto hoped that the landing was closer than it seemed.

It was. A few moments later, the stairs sloped onto a white, frozen platform, and in the center, sat a blue police box.

Ianto gazed on at the box in confusion. This was where the Doctor was? Inside that tiny box? There was no other way down from the snowy platform other than the spiral staircase that he had come up, and he knew the Doctor had arrived by beforehand. That left no other choice than the police box. Stepping forward nervously, Ianto rapped the navy door twice with his fist.

He heard footsteps approaching – Wait, how were there footsteps? The box was only a couple of meters across. There would be no time for more than one or two footfalls before the door was opened. However little sense the footsteps made, they gave Ianto time to duck out of the view of the doorway. He was only a bit terrified – What would the man do? He seemed to be an unpredictable kind of person. He could report Ianto the coppers, and then what could happen?

Leaning against the side of the box, Ianto heard the door open from the front. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw the Doctor take a step outside the police box. Ianto flattened himself against the side of the box, praying that he wouldn't be seen.

"Hello?" He heard the man call, obviously confused, and of course he was confused, because who would be on his…what was it, exactly? A cloud? It felt like how Ianto would imagine a standing on a cloud would feel, so he supposed it was the best term for his current surroundings. "Who's there?"

Ianto held his breath and carefully backed away so that he was on the completely opposite side from the door opening. He could hear the Doctor approaching, walking around the navy box and steadily towards him.

Glancing back, he caught a glimpse of the man's face – Eyebrows furrowed, seeming disoriented. Making sure he made no noise, Ianto scooted around to the remaining side of the box. Realizing this would be his only chance, he dared to break into a sprint, heading toward the spiral staircase.

He made it to the first step, and clattered down the remaining ones, all through the snowy sky and back down to the reality of a London winter instead of the intriguing Doctor and his police box in the sky.

/

Upon awakening the next morning, Ianto originally presumed the entirety of the last night was an elaborate dream he cooked up for himself. However, he quickly dismissed that theory, as he still had red marks on his hands from pulling down the ladder that he couldn't recall receiving from anywhere else. Having no clue how on earth he was to find the Doctor again, other than trying to return to his cloud, Ianto thought the best way to learn more was to research this mysterious Retcon.

He was going to pay a visit to his sister.

Rhiannon worked as a governess for the Latimer estate. She had two children under her charge, Digby and Francesca, whom Ianto had met on more than one occasion. They were both pleasant enough to be around, though Ianto did not know how Rhi could stand to have children with her so constantly. She said it pleased her, and though Ianto did not understand, he understood fully that they needed the money, especially since both of their parents had passed so recently. And if this job made Rhi happy, then he wouldn't be standing in her way.

Usually when he visited, Ianto would take an hour or so to have tea with her and maybe browse through the Latimer estate's extensive library, a pillage that he was hoping would occur again today, for he was sure that was where he had come across the term Retcon.

He arrived at the estate a little past noon, making sure that it was an appropriate time to come visiting. Rhi's employer, Mr. Latimer, never minded when he dropped in for a visit. Ianto expected it was because he was sweet on her. It was the most likely case.

He didn't take a carriage up – He didn't have anyone to hitch a ride from. Instead, he walked. It was good to take in a bit of fresh air. Last night's snow had been bitterly cold, but the morning felt like a normal, crisp, chilly winter day.

Reaching up his gloved hand, Ianto rapped on the front door of the Latimer estate. It was a grand old building, quite beautiful, large and probably rather expensive as well, he reflected as he waited for the door to be answered.

The opening swung open not a moment later, revealing a portly, middle-aged woman in a maid's uniform, carrying a silver platter on which appeared to be two cups of tea. "Why, Mr. Jones!" She greeted him warmly. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Good afternoon, Alice," Ianto said politely in greeting. He had met Latimer's maid once before and the two had talked briefly. Alice had told Ianto that he reminded her of her young grandson, and she had taken a liking to him. "I was wondering if I could call upon Ms. Jones today? I haven't seen her in nearly a month."

"Well, she's working, you know that," Alice said kindly. "But I'm sure we could arrange for the two of you to have a quick cup of tea! Why don't you come inside?"

"Thank you," Ianto smiled, stepping inside the doorway into the main hall. It was lavishly decorated with paintings and other pieces of art, with a staircase running up the center of the room, leading to the upstairs bedrooms and to the library that he was so interested in. "It's lovely to see you again, by the way."

"And you, dear!" Alice gave him a warm, friendly smile. "Why don't you go on upstairs and wait in the library while I go see if your sister is free? I do know how you like the books."

"Thank you." Ianto was surprised that he was able to get away with his exploits so easily, without even having to say a word. "That would be lovely. Second door on the right once I go up the stairs?"

"Exactly," Alice nodded. "I'll fetch Ms. Jones for you and she'll be up as soon as she can."

"You are a wonder, Alice," Ianto smiled at her, taking her small, wrinkled hand that was free of the tray of tea delicately in his own. "Thank you very much."

"No problem at all," Alice's mouth quirked upward as she backed away and into the adjoining hallway. Smiling slightly to himself, Ianto turned to the stairs and hurried up, taking those two at a time in a rush to get to the library. He didn't know how much time he had or what the book was that he would be searching for, but he knew that he needed to find out what, exactly, Retcon meant and why it was important.

The path to the library wasn't difficult to figure out. A few short moments later, Ianto spun around to find himself in a cavernous room filled to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes. He smiled. Ianto loved reading, and hardly ever got the chance to pleasure himself with novels or nonfiction works. He wished he had time to browse, but that wasn't the case; he had to find Retcon.

He remembered very little about the book in question or even about Retcon itself – He only vaguely recalled a piece of writing mentioning a substance that could erase select memories. He originally thought it was fictional; ludicrous, even, that something could exist of that sort. Now he wasn't so certain.

Ianto made his way to the shelf nearest the door. He walked along the next to the books, eyes briefly scanning the titles to see if anything stood out. He knew that the search for the correct book in this gigantic palace of novelizations was probably fruitless, but he had to at least try.

"Ianto!"

Ianto was unpleasantly snapped out of his reverie by a high-pitched female voice. Turning, he was faced with the woman he loved more than anything in the world, though maybe not at this very instant – His sister, Rhiannon.

Rhi was five years older than him, but Ianto was really the one who took care of her. She was a heavyset woman with dark brown hair usually piled in a bun on the back of her head. Oftentimes she'd complain about her hair, saying that its ugliness was the reason she wasn't yet married. Ianto tried not to make the snide comment that maybe it was the complaints and not the hair, though rather unsuccessfully. At the moment, though, Rhi wasn't complaining. Instead, she was smiling in joy, rushing towards him. He gathered her into a hug.

"Hello, Rhi!" Ianto kissed her cheek as he let go of her. "I do hope I'm not intruding on anything, but I thought you might like a visitor on Christmas Eve."

"You're not intruding!" Rhi hit him lightly on the arm, laughing. "I was going to ask for tomorrow off to come 'round and visit you, but I suppose I won't have to now!" Before Ianto could reply, there was suddenly a pattering of footsteps, and two children came in through the library door, bundled up, probably from just being outdoors.

Francesca and Digby were their names, if Ianto remembered correctly, and he immediately turned his smile upon them. "Hello! I do hope you remember me – Mr. Jones, Ms. Jones's brother?"

"Yes, sir," the eldest, the girl spoke. She had long, curly red hair that would make her absolutely beautiful when she grew older. "It's good to see you again, sir."

"And you, Francesca," Ianto tried not to let his disappointment at not being able to find the book filter into his smile. "How are you today?"

Francesca looked to the ground, suddenly shy. "Oh – erm, fine, I suppose."

"Now, Frannie," Rhiannon gave the girl a stern look. "What have I told you about lying?"

Ianto cast the young girl a strange glance. "What's the matter?"

Rhi shook her head, almost in exasperation. "Frannie's been having a nightmare, that's all."

"What kind of nightmare?" Ianto frowned. The ginger girl just looked steadily at the floor. Looking closer, Ianto noticed tears forming in her chocolate eyes.

"The old governess," Digby, her brother answered from behind his sister. He had a high voice, full of excitement, probably because it was nearly Christmas. It was also slightly taunting of his older sister. "Frannie's scared of her."

"Am not!" Francesca protested, glaring at Digby. Then, glancing over at Rhi, she amended "Maybe just a little bit."

"She died last year," Digby stated. "She drowned in the pond out back. And now Frannie's dreaming about her coming back to life and killing us all!"

Ianto looked at the young, blushing girl. That was a bit of a grisly thing to be dreaming about at only twelve or thirteen years old. He cast Rhi a look as well, who just shrugged worriedly. "Now, why would she ever do a thing like that?"

"Because she hated us!" Digby answered again before Francesca could even open her mouth. "She was evil. She _would_ come back just to haunt us."

Ianto frowned, kneeling down next to Francesca, who looked at him with tears blossoming in her eyes. "How about this?" he said. "Will you show me the pond where she died? Maybe knowing that she can't come back out of the water would make you feel better."

"Ianto, that's not necessary," Rhi said from behind him. "This is my job, not yours."

Rising, Ianto turned to his sister, who simply gazed back at him. "I know, but I'd feel horrible about stealing you away when this poor girl is having a nightmare and needs your help." He rested a hand on Francesca's small, round shoulder. Rhi started to glare at him, but her face melted into one of resignation.

"Yes, I suppose that would be alright," Rhi smiled. "But don't go making these children like you better than me. I'm supposed to be their favorite."

As Digby reassured Rhiannon that she would always be their number one, Ianto's hand was grabbed by Francesca, who started pulling him out of the library and down the staircase. It was only a matter of minutes later when Ianto found himself back outside in the cool, brisk air; only this time, instead of at the house's front, he was in the back courtyard, being dragged insistently by Frannie toward a small, decorative pond.

"This is it," Francesca said as they approached the pond. It wasn't large, only about ten feet across, though it seemed to be deep. It was impossible to tell how far down it went, however, because it was frozen solid. Ianto's eyebrows creased together. Although it had been icy last night, the slick walkways and iced over waters had evaporated by the time dawn came around. So what was this little pond still doing frozen?

"That's strange," Ianto said aloud. Frannie sent him a quelling glance, so Ianto explained himself. "Everything's melted but the pond."

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him – Did these nightmares of a young girl have something to do with the mysterious snowmen? The snowmen were influenced by people's thoughts, so if Francesca thought incessantly about her old governess coming back to life and murdering her family…

Ianto immediately knelt down next to Francesca. Taking her small, delicate hands in his own, he stared her directly in the eye. She looked a bit frightened of him, to be honest, and Ianto supposed that she had a reason to. He could probably seem a bit unhinged to someone who didn't realize the scale of what was possibly occurring. "Frannie, have you been thinking about this old governess quite a bit?"

She nodded, blinking a few times. Ianto gripped her hands tighter. "You must stop, alright? Only if you stop thinking about her will she leave forever. Promise me you won't think about her anymore, Francesca."

"I won't," she whispered, still looking anxious. "I promise."

"Good," Ianto sighed, loosening his grip on her hands and rising to his feet steadily. He could see Rhiannon and Digby coming out of the house now. Rhi had a confused and slightly angry expression on her face that Ianto would be forced to rectify later.

"Mr. Jones?" Francesca's voice carried up to his ears. He looked back down at the redhead. She was more abashed than afraid now, and she had a slight blush on her cheeks. "Ms. Jones said that if the nightmares continued, I might have to see a doctor."

"I think," Ianto said slowly, an idea forming in his mind, "That a doctor might be just what you need."


	5. The Snowmen Part 4

Telling Rhiannon that he knew a doctor that may be able to help with Francesca's recurring nightmare, Ianto promised that he'd be back within a few hours' times. While Rhi was not completely pleased with him, she reluctantly agreed, for if there was any chance of helping Frannie, she would take it. Ianto knew this; Rhi loved those two little children with all of her heart and would do anything to help them. Of course, her one condition was that the doctor had to be approved of by Captain Latimer. Leaving the estate to brace the cold winter air once more, Ianto headed to the one place he knew that the Doctor might be located.

The park was much busier in the afternoon than it had been in the dead of night. The iridescent wonderland of the night before had been replaced by another brisk London day, the park overrun with people milling about or taking in the nice weather. Still, Ianto didn't let the crowds bother him as he strode amongst the masses, headed toward an all-too-familiar spot that careened ever so slightly off the pathways.

Ianto wasn't exactly sure about the precise location that he had previously pulled the ladder that led into the stars down from, but he had a reasonable estimation. He knew what patch of snow it hung over, at the very least.

Despite his confidence in his memory, when he finally arrived at the spot he was sure the Doctor lived above, he didn't see any trace of a ladder. Ignoring the odd looks he was on the receiving end of, Ianto reached his arms up into the air. His hands felt nothing other than the bitterly cold breeze. Sighing and bracing himself for even more incredulous glances, he began shouting into the heavens.

"Doctor! Doctor!" There was no response. "Doctor!"

Suddenly, Ianto felt a tug at his elbow. Turning, he was greeted by the face of a young woman, about his own age; short height, ivory skin, and dark hair piled upon her head. She didn't look particularly different or outstanding in any way, but there was a strange look in her eyes that added a mysterious intrigue to her otherwise average profile.

"Don't shout," she whispered harshly, a Cockney accent filtering through her speech. "You'll attract attention. Now come with me, Mr. Jones."

Ianto was too stunned to do anything but follow the woman as she headed through the throng of people and back into the streets.

* * *

The woman's name was Jenny, she had informed him, and she was taking Ianto to see someone named Vastra. When Ianto inquired as to whom Vastra may be, she had him to shut it. Pleasant, she was. She didn't comment on much of anything after that, simply silently leading Ianto through the busy, bustling streets of London on Christmas Eve until the pair of them arrived at a large home only a few minutes' walk from the park that housed the police box in the sky.

It was nice home, if not particularly large. It looked quite a bit like Ianto's own flat, but from the outside, appeared to be well-kept, unlike his own. Jenny gestured him forward, and Ianto hesitantly stepped inside the home behind her.

They were greeted immediately by the creature from the night before – Ianto believed the Doctor called him a Sontaran. He was dressed primly in a suit and tie, just as he had been before. He was glaring at Ianto, who did his best to smile back.

"Do not attempt to escape or you shall be obliterated," He said, enunciating each word with contempt.

"Good to see you, too, Strax," Ianto chuckled softly, recalling his name. The Sontaran gave him a glance of surprise, probably at his politeness. He supposed the trait of pleasantness wasn't something that Strax was used to, what with his alien-ness.

"May I take your coat?" The alien asked, holding an arm out expectantly. Ianto hesitated before slipping off his suit jacket and handing it to Strax, who then gestured him into the doorway beyond. Ianto stepped inside the room, which, to his shock, was filled with colorful, tropical plants. Ianto figured that someone must have to be quite rich to be able to import these rarities. His next shock, however, was greater. There was a lizard sitting in the chair across the room.

By lizard, he meant that it really was a lizard. A gigantic, human-sized lizard wearing a long black dress reminiscent of a spider web and sipping a glass of what appeared to be red wine. Ianto gaped at her before closing his mouth abruptly, not wanting to seem rude. It must be another alien.

"Sit," he heard Jenny say from behind him. Glancing back at her nodding, he slid into the chair opposite of the lizard woman, who he assumed must be the mysterious Vastra that Jenny had brought him to visit with.

Setting her drink down, she looked up at him fearlessly, even with a bit of contempt in her eyes. Ianto suddenly became very nervous. The lizard began speaking in a low, throaty alto. "There are two drinks in your world the color of red wine. This," she gestured to the glass she'd set on the table beside her, "is not red wine."

Ianto didn't know how to respond to such a statement. Luckily, there was no need, as Jenny began speaking from a place in the corner behind him that Ianto could only see in his periphery view.

"Madame Vastra will ask you questions," she began. "You will confine yourself to one word answers – One word only. Do you understand?"

Swallowing nervously, Ianto spoke, hoping his voice didn't crack. "Why?"

"Truth is singular," Vastra replied, gazing levelly at him. "Lies are words, words, words. You met the Doctor, I presume?"

"Yes," Ianto said, at least knowing how to respond to this question.

"And now you have come looking for him again. Why?"

Ianto thought for a moment, weighing options in his head. He was well-aware of the fact that this was a test. For what, he didn't know. Worthiness? Vastra was still waiting for an answer, so Ianto said the first thing that had popped into his mind. "Curiosity."

"About?" Vastra didn't show any sign that his response was negative or positive.

"Snow," Ianto replied.

"And about him?" A wry smile twisted onto Vastra's lips.

"Yes." Ianto tried his hardest to keep meeting her gaze. To look away was to show weakness, and he did not want to appear weak.

"What do you want from him?"

Ianto decided that the simplest response was the truest. "Help."

"Why?" Vastra's eyes bored into his own. Swallowing nervously, Ianto spoke again.

"Danger."

"Why would he help _you_?" Vastra asked, a cruel tone seeping into her words.

"Kindness," Ianto said, surprised. The Doctor was a man who had information about the snow, and now a young girl could be in danger because of it. Wouldn't anyone try to save an innocent, young woman from the dangers of the world?

"The Doctor is not kind," Vastra stated with contempt, surprising Ianto. The Doctor had seemed kind enough last night when he had let Ianto keep his memories. "The Doctor doesn't help people; not anyone, not ever. He stands above this world and does not interfere with our affairs. He is not your protector or your salvation. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

"Words," Ianto responded immediately, finally feeling as if he had surprised Vastra in their little game. Her eyes indicated nothing to show this, however.

"He was," she began hesitantly. "Different once – Kind. One might even have referred to him as a hero. A savior of worlds. But he suffered many losses, which hurt him. Now he chooses isolation instead to isolate himself for fear of losing again. Choose a word to show your understanding of this."

Ianto knew what this was. He knew it all too well. "Human."

Vastra's eyes widened, finally showing a bit of emotion. Ianto couldn't help but hope she could help him. The lizard woman's eyes rose up to meet Jenny's before she leaned down close to Ianto. Not knowing what this could possibly be about, Ianto leaned in as well.

"We are the Doctor's friends," she said. "We assist him in his isolation, but we do not approve of it. So I shall grant you a test."

_This wasn't already a test?_ Ianto thought silently, though he didn't say the words aloud, for Vastra had continued.

"Give me a message for the Doctor. Inform him of the snow and what danger you believe it presents, and above all, tell him why he should help you." Ianto opened his mouth to begin to speak, but Vastra put a green, scaly finger to his lips. "But do it in one word."

Ianto's head spun while Vastra smirked. "You're thinking it's impossible that a word of this nature even exists or that you could even find it. Let's see if the gods are with you, Ianto Jones."

Suddenly, an idea formed in Ianto's head.

* * *

The book was a history of the Balaca galaxy. The Doctor hadn't visited the Balacas in years, so he wasn't exactly aware of how they were doing at the present moment in time. He'd decided to read a book about it. He would _not, _under any circumstances, be visiting. However, soon after he started the book, he realized why the library had remained vastly untouched for a couple hundred years.

The Doctor did not have the patience to read.

While many of his previous forms had enjoyed the library, he found that this body, this personality, neither had the initiative or the patience to sit down with a good book. He got bored far too easily. When the phone rang, it was a welcome distraction.

"Hello? What do you need?" He sighed, expecting to hear the voice of Vastra. He wasn't disappointed.

"I have a Mr. Ianto Jones here with me," Vastra's throaty tone filtered through the old-fashioned telephone. "He had inquiries about the snow. I gave him the one word test."

The Doctor sighed, but despite himself, gave a small smile at the boy's initiative, even if his attempts were fruitless. "This is pointless, Vastra. What did he say?"

"Pond."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he slowly set the book onto the counsel. A thousand thoughts were racing through his mind at the speed of light.

"Strax has already suggested where we begin to look."

* * *

_Sherlock Holmes, _the Doctor had said when the butler had asked for his name. Immediately after hearing the news from Vastra, he had headed straight to Doctor Simeon's, who he knew had some part to play in these dastardly events playing out. And if there was one surefire way to gain someone's attention, it was to say that you had the name of a fictional character. Well, really, _the _fictional character.

Now the butler had gone to get his master. The Doctor wasn't overly patient, and after waiting the standard five seconds, followed the young man back through the twisting halls of Simeon's estate.

Adjusting his deer stalker and his smoking pipe outside of the large set of double doors the butler had just gone through, the Doctor smiled to himself. Oh, he had missed this.

He turned and through the doors open, barging into the room. He wasn't going to wait for an invitation; otherwise he'd have to be patient all day long. And the chances of that happening were terrible indeed.

"Oh, hello!" He strode into the room to face the butler and who he presumed to be Doctor Simeon – An older gentleman, short, with greying hair, and a scowl that seemed like it hadn't left his face in decades. "Nice office! Big snow globe thing!" He gestured over to the contraption he presumed to be responsible for the memory snow. It was a gigantic snow globe with the icy white particles flying all across as if possessed by something otherworldly. Which they were.

Turning to the other doctor, he started into a very Holmes-esque rant. "Now, judging by your collar, I'd say you have an apple tree and a wife at an inn. Am I right?" He smiled expectantly. Simeon remained scowling.

"No," he baritone voice rumbled.

"Oh." The Doctor frowned, disappointed. Then he perked up. "Got a wife? Bit of a tree? Bit of a wife? Some apples? Work with me here, will you?"

"No," Simeon nearly growled, striding toward him purposefully so that they were merely inches apart. "I am as well-read as the next man, and am perfectly aware that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character. Now get out!"

The Doctor wiped a bit of Simeon's spit from his eye, and, obviously, ignored his request. Instead, he turned to the butler, a young man with glasses and ginger hair. "Do you have a goldfish named Colin?"

"No," the man said, staring at him incredulously.

"Didn't think so!" The Doctor shrugged and turned away from Simeon. Noticing the desk across from the snow globe, he made his way over and picked up a few loose papers. "I see this is one of your business cards," the Doctor turned to Simeon, beaming, one of the papers held in his hand. "It says so on the front."

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Simeon snatched his card out of the Doctor's hands.

"Ah!" The Doctor grinned and raced away from the desk and toward the snow globe. "This!" He struck the globe mercilessly with his cane. "Wake up!"

"That is very valuable equipment!" the Doctor found his cane being yanked upon from behind and unfortunately was forced to turn around to address the man at hand.

"We are the Intelligence," a deep, rumbling voice echoed from behind him. The Doctor turned back to the snow, a grin forming on his childlike features.

"Talking snow," he couldn't help but become excited. "I love new things."

"You are not of this world," the voice echoed again.

A pun jumped into the Doctor's head. "Takes one to snow one," he giggled, and looked over to see if Simeon was laughing. He wasn't. Oh. That was a shame. The Doctor liked making people laugh. "Right, let's see then." Grabbing his cane back from Simeon he began pacing around the snow globe, hitting it haphazardly as he walked. "A multi-nuclear crystalline organism with the ability to mimic and mirror what it finds. It looks like snow, but isn't snow."

Suddenly, the Doctor became aware of Simeon's presence next to him. The other man gripped arm tightly, glaring at him. "Leave here now."

"Shut up!" The Doctor pulled away from him and started his pacing again. "I'm making deductions. You should be more excited. How often is Sherlock Holmes in your office, making deductions? I'll tell you when, never. Now," he focused his attention once more on the Intelligence as he swung his cane around in circles. "What are you? A flock of space crystals? A swarm of snowmen – Foot soldiers – Mindless predators. But you're the clever one." A realization came into his mind. "You're Moriarty!"

The Doctor became aware of Simeon ringing the bell to summon for help, and realized he better sum this up in a hurry. "So you come onto a planet and generate a telepathic field to learn what you can but what do you do once you've learned it? You can't conquer a world using snowmen, snowmen are rubbish. You'll have to be better than that! Evolve!"

There was suddenly pounding on the doors – The butler. "Sir!"

"You've locked the doors?" Simeon cried, but the Doctor elected to ignore him. It was the Intelligence he was interested in, not an old fool who had no idea what mess he'd gotten himself into.

"You need to transform yourself into something more human," It dawned on him suddenly. "Human DNA, but in ice form. Where do you find that?"

The Doctor jumped down the pedestal that the globe sat upon, striding confidently back over to the desk, where papers and files were strewn in every which way. Simeon wasn't very neat. Sifting through the papers, he found what he was looking for. "Most opened file, most looked-at page…There we go!" He slammed one of the files down on the desk. "Governess frozen in pond. Gotcha!"

He heard the door to the study open behind him; Simeon's back-up had arrived.

Too late.

He was already gone.


	6. The Snowmen Part 5

The night wasn't nearly as cold as yesterday.

The Doctor, after finding Simeon's article about the governess that had frozen to death in the pond, decided he'd pay the Latimer Residence a visit. Strax had followed, of course, for Strax was an annoying little bugger, but the Doctor had left him in the carriage so that he wouldn't cause bodily damage to anyone by means of his utter stupidity.

"Body frozen in a pond," the Doctor said quietly to himself, pacing on the outer rim of the picturesque, snowy pool of water, his screwdriver checking for readings. "Well, the snow gets a good, long look at a human being, gets a full body scan…Enough for evolution!" He smiled wryly to himself. "Pond. Good pond, Jones, Ianto Jones."

Sliding his screwdriver into his coat pocket, he heard footsteps behind him. Frowning, he turned to see Strax standing there, suit and all, looking pleased. The Doctor, on the other hand, was not pleased, and he stared at Strax in confusion.

"What are you doing here?"

Strax's expression remained the same. "Madame Vastra was wondering if you needed any grenades."

"Grenades?" The Doctor asked incredulously. "Why the hell would I need grenades?"

Strax hesitated, eyes furtively glancing around the frozen yard of the estate. "She might have said help."

"Help with what?" The Doctor couldn't help but sound contemptuous.

"Well, the investigation, of course!"

The Doctor's face twisted into a mixture of confusion and revulsion. "Investigation? This is not an investigation," he shook his head. "You think that I'm going to investigating again just because someone _interesting _caught my attention? Who do take me for, Strax?"

"Sherlock Holmes," Strax said with a moronic grin gracing his features.

The Doctor turned to him, glaring and debating whether or not strangulation was a good life choice. "Don't be clever, Strax!" He hopped down from the stone pathway and kneeled down to be at eye level with the Sontaran. "It doesn't suit you."

"Sorry, sir," Strax said, still sounding pleased.

"I'm the clever one," the Doctor enunciated so that the little moron would get the point. "You're the potato one."

"Yes, sir," Strax said a bit sarcastically. "Or should I say Sherlock Holmes."

Laughing, Strax backed away and vanished into the night. Annoyed that the Sontaran had gotten the upper hand, the Doctor called after him "Shut up! You're not funny or clever, and you've got tiny legs!"

Cursing inwardly, the Doctor looked up at the estate, noticing a light in one of the upper windows. Frowning, he squinted up at the glass panes. There was a face there, one he couldn't quite make out. Suddenly, the features rearranged themselves to become a young man with brown, stick up hair and an upturned nose. Ianto Jones. He was in the _house_? The Doctor hadn't considered this possibility.

It was too late to run, though. Ianto's features had lit up in recognition and he waved down at the Doctor, a small smile growing on his face.

The Doctor, hesitant, waved back. Ianto then pointed at the Doctor, and then up at himself. Damn it, he wanted the Doctor to come up! The Doctor turned away for a moment, suddenly anxious.

"Just tell him you're leaving," he breathed, trying to stay relaxed. "Just tell him you have to leave and can't come up." Spinning on his heel once more, he faced the window once again. He lifted up a full-fingered hand, followed by a thumbs up.

"Damn it!" He cursed. "Where did five minutes come from? _Where_?" He bit his finger in retaliation for its stupidity. Jumping off of the elevated stone around the pond, he headed toward the house.

"That's him," Ianto declared, turning away from the windowsill to face Rhiannon and the children. The four of them were sitting in the library, Rhi reading to the two young ones from one of their textbooks for lessons.

Ianto had shown up again a little over an hour ago, explaining to Rhiannon, along with her employer, Captain Latimer, that he knew a doctor that specialized in the type of issues Francesca was having with her terrifyingly vivid nightmares. He had told them that this doctor had told Ianto that he had the potential of stopping by tonight after his work was done.

Captain Latimer had readily agreed – It seemed he was at a bit of a loss when it came to his children. Rhi, on the other hand, had been slightly more suspicious, but nevertheless invited Ianto to stay until his doctor was able to show his face. He had been with Rhiannon and her charges ever since.

To be quite honest, he didn't know if the Doctor would show his face. Madame Vastra had made it seem promising, but he knew that it was a long shot. Still, he couldn't help but hope. And the hope had paid off, for the Doctor had appeared, examining the pond in the back garden. So he _had _realized Ianto's message.

"He's coming up," Ianto told Rhiannon with a smile. She looked relieved, while Francesca, on the other hand, looked slightly apprehensive.

"And you're sure he'll be able to help me?" She asked, her anxious voice filling the air.

"I'm sure," Ianto reassured her. "You won't have this nightmare ever again."

"How do you know?" Digby asked from his position next to his elder sister. He had been a surprisingly good sport about this whole ordeal.

"Because he's a genius," Ianto made up a quick lie. Well, it could be a lie. He wasn't sure of the other man's intelligence level. "How about I tell you a story about him?"

"Would you?" Francesca gave a hint of a smile. "Is it a true story?"

"Most definitely," Ianto grinned over at Rhi, who smiled back. Their childhood had consisted of many stories. Mainly they had created their own and recounted them to each other. It was one of Ianto's fondest childhood memories. "There's a man…called the Doctor."

"Doctor who?" Digby asked.

"Exactly," Ianto's grin widened as he took a seat next to Rhiannon and across from the children. "He lives on a cloud in the sky, and all he ever does is stop children from having bad dreams."

"Then why have I been having bad dreams?" Francesca frowned, hurt filtering into her voice. Ianto mentally cursed himself for forgetting that detail.

"He's been on holiday," he rectified himself. "But I'm certain that he's back now, and as a matter of fact, he's coming up right now."

Suddenly, there was a creaking at the library door. The four of them turned, Ianto expecting to see the man in top hat and purple coat, but instead was faced with a truly horrifying sight.

It was a woman – If it could be called that, for she was no ordinary human being. It was almost as if a walking, living ice sculpture had entered the room. She was covered head to toe in ice crystals, with no body underneath, just a simple statue of ice. Except for the fact that it was walking toward them, her pointer finger crooked threateningly.

"The children have been very naughty!" A crackling voice issued from what would have been her mouth. Francesca and Digby were both screaming, and Ianto quickly grabbed the pair of them by the shoulders and threw them behind him as he stood up. Rhiannon's hand grasped his own as they stood, united against the ice woman with the two young ones cowering behind them. "Naughty, naughty children!"

Ianto made a split second decision. "Run!"

Grasping Digby's hand and making sure Rhi had a firm grip on Francesca, he hightailed it out of the library, rushing away from the ice woman, dragging the boy along behind him. "Is there another exit?" He grabbed Rhiannon's free hand as she followed him, panting.

"Yes, in the back!" She gasped out.

Making sure they were all accounted for, Ianto ran as quickly as possible with his three counterparts behind him, heading through the stacks and shelves, ducking to avoid some, until a door approached on their left. Shaking off the hands he had attached to his own, he wrenched open the doorway, shuffling Rhi, Frannie, and Digby into the room. After the four of them had managed to make it inside, Ianto slammed the door; deadlocking it.

"What do we do?" Frannie wailed, clutching at Rhiannon's skirts. Ianto turned to her and knelt so that they were at eye level.

"You have to imagine her melting," Ianto explained quickly, praying that it would work. He heard the ice woman, who he assumed must be the past governess, beating at the door in anger, trying to break inside.

"What?" Frannie asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ianto, how would that help?" Rhiannon's shaking hand was on his shoulder.

"Please, just do it!" Ianto begged.

"I'm getting impatient," the woman's voice rang out as the door suddenly busted in upon itself, revealing the snow-chilled governess. Ianto quickly stood up, once again pushing the children behind himself and Rhiannon. "You have been very naughty!"

"Where's the man?" Digby cried, clutching at Ianto's arm. Ianto wanted to comfort the boy, but he didn't know how. "Where's the Doctor?"

"I don't know!" Ianto yelled, wishing fervently that the Doctor _would _make an appearance.

"Doctor?" A squeaky voice echoed from the corner. Ianto, along with Rhiannon, turned to see one of the children's puppets upon a wooden stage, making hand motions from an invisible perpetrator behind the stage. "Doctor who?" The puppet disappeared momentarily before it popped up once more, this time with some sort of electronic instrument in its hand, pointed directly at the ice woman.

It glowed green, making an odd, high-pitched noise. Ianto wondered what it was doing. A moment later, he received his answer. His face was pelted with icy shards as the woman encased in ice exploded into thousands of miniscule pieces.

"That's the way to do it!" A man stood up from behind the puppet stage, clad in a black top hat, a purple overcoat, and – was that a bow tie?

"Doctor," Relief spread over Ianto's face. "It's about time."

"I-Is she coming back?" Rhiannon's voice wavered. Ianto gripped her hand firmly in his own. "The woman…"

"Hmm, let's see," the Doctor strode out from behind the stage, tripping over his own feet slightly. He knelt down onto the floor next to the location where the woman had exploded, holding his device above it as if he was waiting for something to appear. "Currently, she's draining through your carpet…I'm sorry, what's your name?" He glanced over at her for a fraction of a second before returning his attention to the floor.

"Rhiannon Jones," she replied. "I am Mr. Jones's sister, and these are the children in my care."

"Well, it's lovely to meet all of you," the Doctor grinned over at them. "Ianto, you never told me you had a sister!"

"Didn't really come up, Doctor," Ianto said, mystified as to why this was a topic of conversation in light of current events. "You know; more important things to worry about."

The Doctor gave him a smile before standing up fully, flipping his device over in his hands. "Of course. New setting, by the way. Anti-freeze." He gestured to his device. "You're welcome, by the way."

"I'm grateful," Ianto replied sincerely. "I knew you'd show up."

"No, you didn't," the Doctor snorted derisively. "Because I didn't. Because this isn't the sort of thing I do anymore." He paced across the room before halting in front of the mirror over the fireplace mantle.

"Is something wrong?" Ianto hurried over to where the Doctor was standing, frozen. There seemed to be nothing peculiar about his reflection, however.

"No, I -" the Doctor hesitated for a moment. "I just didn't realize I put the bow tie on." He fidgeted uncomfortably. Ianto thought about mentioning it, but then suddenly became aware of the room's decreasing temperature.

"It's cooler," Ianto breathed, glancing around the room to make sure nothing was amiss. The Doctor, on the other hand, seemed to take his comment to mean something else entirely, because he smiled seemingly in spite of himself.

"Yeah," he was saying, "Yeah it is. Bow ties are cool."

"No, no," Ianto didn't have any idea what the Doctor could be talking about, but his acute perception of the temperature was causing him nerves. "The room is cooler…"

"She's coming up!" Rhiannon suddenly gasped, pointing at the floor. Ianto spun on his heel to see a figure rising from underneath the rug, growing larger by the second.

"What?" the Doctor turned away from his reflection, waving his device about once more as it created even further peculiar noises. It didn't seem to have any results, though, for the figure was still growing.

"She must have learned not to melt!" The Doctor shouted, ducking between Ianto and Rhiannon's heads, leaning in to find a closer look at the ice woman.

"What's she going to do?" Francesca whimpered.

"She's just a beast!" the Doctor cried. "And therefore…she's going to eat you." He reached his hands out to grab both Francesca and Digby's. "Run!" He commanded, and Ianto and Rhiannon had no choice but to follow the man as he exited, pulling the children along with him.

The five of them rushed through the hallways, racing at top speed. The winding layout of the house was now a disadvantage to the situation at hand. However, after minimal running, they managed to find the staircase. The Doctor was the first to run down, the children's hands gripped tightly in his own. Ianto hurried Rhiannon along after them before following himself.

At the foot of the stairs, they ran into Captain Latimer, an older man with brown, over-combed hair and an expensive waistcoat. He looked highly annoyed at the entire ordeal.

"Who the devil are you?" he snarled at the sight of the Doctor. "Are you the man here to see my daughter? Because if so, you're not achieving your goal very well." His comment was well-earned, for tears were soaking Francesca's cheeks.

"I – I – Yes, I'm the Doctor!" He explained hastily. "And we were just…ah..."

The Doctor was cut off, luckily enough, by Alice, who was striding down the hallway ringing a small, tinkling bell. "Captain Latimer! In the garden…There are snowmen forming all by themselves!" The doorbell rang on the opposite end of the hall, and the maid hurried to answer it. Craning his neck, Ianto could see the door open to reveal Madame Vastra and her companion, Jenny.

"Hello," Vastra's voice wafted back to the staircase. "I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife."

Alice screamed and slammed the door in their faces. Ianto couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. He was distracted a moment later, however, by the sound of Strax's dulcet tones.

"This building is under attack," he said primly, marching in from the back garden. "Remain calm, human scum."

Alice's voice screeched up into the highest of tones once more before her body hit the ground with a thud. Ianto winced.

"So…" the Doctor grinned nervously at Captain Latimer from Ianto's left. "Any questions?"

The captain simply remained staring at him incredulously, and Ianto really couldn't blame him.

"Vastra!" the Doctor shouted as he raced over to the window facing the back of the estate. "What have you got to report?"

"The snow is not naturally occurring!" Vastra told him, peering out into the snowy night.

"It's coming out of that machine by the gate!" Jenny said from Vastra's side.

"Sir," Strax stated. "You do realize that one grenade would leave these snowmen in pieces."

"They're snow, Strax!" the Doctor shook his hands, frustrated, in Strax's small, misshapen face. "They're already in pieces! See, Ianto," Ianto was surprised to find himself being addressed. "I told you that his race wasn't known for their brightness."

"That's the way to do it!" A loud, female voice rang out from the upper end of the staircase before Ianto had a chance to reply. The ice woman had made a return.

"That," the Doctor told Captain Latimer as Ianto and Rhiannon rushed themselves and the children away from the foot of the staircase and also from the woman seemingly dead set on killing them, "Is your previous governess, now impersonating an ice sculpture." He turned away from the gaping captain to the young woman dressed in black. "Jenny, what've you got?"

Jenny showed the Doctor an odd, black device before chucking it across the room and up at the ice woman. Ianto gasped as it glowed pink around the ice, bathing it in magenta light.

"That should hold it!" She gave the Doctor a weak grin. And it seemed to do the trick – The ice woman tried to push her way down the stairs, but the pink glow acted as a barrier of a sort, not allowing her to come through.

"Sir!" Strax shouted. "There is one observational window and one defendable entrance."

"Okay, everyone in there, then!" the Doctor cried, pointing his green, glowing device up at the ice sculpture. Ianto grabbed Frannie's hand and pulled her along with him, following Strax into a room across the hall, which, based on the desk and the paintings of ships, was Captain Latimer's study.

"Strax!" the Doctor entered a few moments after everyone else. "How long have we got?"

"They're not going to attack," Strax reported, much to Ianto's surprise. "They made no attempt to conceal their arrival and they're obviously in a defense formation."

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around!" the Doctor leaped across the room, hugging Strax and placing a quick kiss on the top of his round, bald head. He made a face at Ianto after doing so, sticking out his tongue almost childishly, making Ianto want to laugh.

"There must be something here that they want!" Jenny frowned. "The ice woman! But what on earth is so important about her?"

"Because she's a perfect replication of human DNA in ice crystal form," the Doctor explained. "The ultimate fusion of humanity and snow. To live here, the snow needs to evolve, and she's the blue print. She is what they need to become! When the snow melted last night, did the pond?"

"No," Rhiannon answered immediately.

The Doctor frowned. "The ice will never melt. If the snow gets a hold of the creature on the stairs, it will _learn _to make more of them." He sighed, eyes cast downward. "They will create an army of ice, and it will be the last day of humanity on this planet."

The speech left all in the room gaping at one another incredulously. Rhi was gripping the hands of her charges most tightly. The Doctor, from his position next to the desk, suddenly stood up fully. "Stay here," he commanded, striding from the room and out into the house.

Ianto, despite knowing he was meant to stay, followed him out the door.

"Oi!" the Doctor must have heard his footsteps, for he turned to face Ianto, scowling. "I thought I said stay put!"

"I didn't listen," Ianto pointed out sarcastically.

"You do that a lot," the Doctor cocked an eyebrow. "The not-listening."

"It's why you like me," Ianto replied, sounding slightly cocky, although he really didn't care.

"Who said I like you?"

"You're here, aren't you?" Ianto grabbed the Doctor's hand, lacing their fingers together tightly. "And that means you have to at least like me a little."

The Doctor glanced up at him, and something about his gaze softened. Before Ianto could address it, there was a loud banging at the door. The Doctor let go of Ianto's hand and rushed toward the doorway, throwing it open to reveal an middle-aged, portly man with greying hair and a scowl on his face, with snowmen flanking both of his sides. Ianto let in a sharp gasp of breath from behind the Doctor.

"Bring her to me," the man said, his voice low and threatening. "You have five minutes." He floated away from the doorway, which the Doctor slammed, obviously not pleased with this turn of events.

The second the door was closed, the Doctor was off again, racing down the hall, leaving Ianto no choice but to follow him back toward the room where his sister and the others were held up.

"We need to get her out of there, but keep her away from them," the Doctor stated as he made his way to the doorway of the room housing the others. Captain Latimer appeared there, looking quite rattled.

"Those creatures outside, what are they?" He asked.

"Monsters," the Doctor answered. "Now get inside the room, now." He strode toward the staircase and pointed his device up at the ice woman. Ianto, despite his better judgment, joined him.

"Ianto!" the Doctor gaped at him as he noticed Ianto step through the pink line separating them from the monster.

"Doctor!" Ianto replied sarcastically.

"You're so stupid!" the Doctor groaned as he grabbed Ianto's wrist, the pair of them ducking out of the way of the ice woman and running up the stairs at top speed to avoid her impending wrath.

"Well then so are you!" Ianto started pulling the Doctor along.

"But I'm good at stupid!" He retaliated.

"That's the way to do it!" The ice woman called to them once more.

"Why does she keep saying that?" Ianto asked, making sure that the Doctor was still climbing the staircase. Thankfully, he was.

"Mirroring!" the Doctor turned to face the creature as they reached the top of the staircase. "Random mirroring!"

Noticing that the creature was advancing steadily and the Doctor wasn't running, Ianto took matters into his own hands – Literally. He laced his own fingers with the Doctor's once more, and pulled hard, yanking him up the remaining stairs and through the hall, propelling him along.

"I do the hand grabbing!" the Doctor was yelling into his ear. "That's my job, it's always me!"

"Does it look like I care?" Ianto hissed, still pulling at the shorter man. The two of them sped down the hallway and Ianto immediately noticed an open window. Gesturing to the Doctor, he pulled himself through the opening and out into the bitter air before reaching in and grabbing the back of the Doctor's jacket, making sure that they wouldn't be separated. Once the Doctor was through, he asked "What's the plan?"

"Who said I have a plan?" the Doctor asked, brushing snow off his jacket.

"Of course you have a plan!" Ianto said, almost desperately, glancing back inside, but still no snow woman approached.

"Well, maybe I'm just an idiot!" the Doctor said. "Ever think of that?"

"You're not an idiot," Ianto snorted, waving a hand dismissively. "You're clever – Really clever."

The Doctor smiled, basking in the glow of the compliment. "Alright," he seemed to come to a decision. "If I've got a plan, what's my plan, you tell me!"

"Is this another test?" Ianto asked.

"Yes," the Doctor replied, cocking an eyebrow. Suddenly, Ianto became aware of the ice woman appearing in his periphery vision from the window.

"What do you want me to do?" Ianto was yelling to be heard over the roaring wind.

"Kill her!"

"That's the way to do it!" The ice woman began to dissolve into the wind and the snow.

"So my plan?" the Doctor asked. "Do you have it figured out?"

"Of course I did!" Ianto said. "I had it figured out in a second!"

"Then show me!"

"Why should I?"

"Because we'll be dead in about a minute now!" the Doctor hissed.

"If we were escaping," Ianto began formulating an idea in his mind on the spot. "We'd be climbing down the building. If we were hiding, we'd be on the other side of the roof. But _we _are standing."

"So?" A smile was forming on the Doctor's face.

"So," Ianto grinned back, reaching upwards. His hand closed around something solid – And metal. He pulled down an all-too-familiar stepladder. "After you!"

"No, after you!" the Doctor replied.

"After you!" Ianto insisted. "I can't claim the title of chivalrous in the face of danger if I go up first."

"Very well," the Doctor winked at him and pulled himself up the ladder, Ianto only a step or so behind him. Looking back, Ianto saw the ice woman reappear on the balcony ledge. Flipping her the bird, he continued climbing until he reached the top of the ladder and the bottom of the staircase, where the Doctor was waiting to pull the ladder up after him.

"So you can control your cloud?" Ianto asked him as they ran up the spiral staircase.

"That would be silly!" the Doctor said derisively. "The wind moves the cloud, obviously."

Ianto suddenly became aware of the ice woman rising up from the balcony and toward the pair of them. "It's coming after us!" He shoved the Doctor, hopefully causing him to move faster up the stairs.

"That's the idea!" the Doctor called. "Keep her away from the snow."

The staircase suddenly ceased existing and Ianto found himself back on the cloud that housed the blue police box. "What am I standing on?" He asked, curious to know the answer.

"Water vapor," the Doctor replied, pointing his glowing device at the trapdoor. "Should keep her trapped for the moment."

"Do you actually live up here?" Ianto asked him as the two strode over toward the blue box. "In a box, on a cloud?"

"Yeah," the Doctor replied. "Have for a while now."

"You're sulking?" Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"I do not sulk," the Doctor told him.

"You live in a box," Ianto pointed out.

"I'll show you," the Doctor scowled. "That's no box."

He reached out and opened the door to the rusting navy box, throwing them open in a dramatic gesture. Ianto, curious, followed him inside. The sight left him gaping.

It was huge – Gigantic, even, full of highly advanced technological equipment far beyond this time, defying the laws of physics and nature by simply existing. There was counsel in the center, and whirring and flashing lights filled the rest of the space. The Doctor grinned at him, his eyes dancing in delight at Ianto's shock.

"It's called the TARDIS," The Doctor's smile became more pronounced as Ianto's jaw dropped. "It can travel anywhere in time and space. And it's mine."

"Look at this," Ianto breathed, watching the flashing and the spinning symbols with increasing shock. "It – It's…"

"Go on, say it," the Doctor grinned. "Most people do."

Ianto ran outside and looked around the box, making sure it hadn't changed – It hadn't. It was still a regular old, small police box. Running back inside, he was faced with the Doctor's cocky smile. "It's smaller on the outside," Ianto said in wonderment.

It was the Doctor's turn to look puzzled, though Ianto had no idea why. "Well, that's a first."

"Is it – Is it magic or machine?" Ianto asked as he walked across the thing, taking everything in.

"It's a ship," the Doctor said in response. "Best ship in the universe."

"A ship?" Ianto let out an incredulous laugh as he leaned over the Doctor, who was pressing buttons on the counsel. "That's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Why are you showing me all this?"

"You…you followed me, remember?" the Doctor turned away from him, but Ianto pressed on.

"But you could have left behind ages ago," Ianto said. "So why didn't you?"

"Because…" the Doctor turned to face him, his face a mixture of confusion and incredulity. "I never know why. I only know who." He held out a small object in front of his face. Ianto frowned, taking it. It was a small, golden key.

"What's this?" Ianto asked him. Now he was the one who was confused.

"Me," the Doctor said. "Giving in."

Ianto smiled at him and gave a small laugh, suddenly noticing that there were tears forming in his eyes. "I…I don't know why, but I'm crying."

"I know why," the Doctor reached a hand out and wiped a tear from Ianto's face. "Remember this, this moment right here; because this is the day that everything begins!" He turned around and pulled a switch on the counsel, making more lights whir into life.

Ianto wanted to reply, but he was suddenly cut off by a lack of oxygen. He found himself being grabbed by the ice woman from behind – how did she get in? – And pulled away, outside the TARDIS door. The Doctor's key fell from his hands and clattered onto the floor.

"Ianto!" the Doctor yelled, but Ianto was already outside of the blue police box, instead returning to the top of the cloud, only this time being pulled by a stronger than anything he'd seen before woman made entirely of ice. Ianto struggled, attempting to escape, but found that the ice had too strong of a grip.

"Let him go!" Ianto heard the Doctor yell. "Let him go now!"

But it was too late. Ianto was already falling. His eyes met the Doctor's as he tumbled backwards into the dark abyss of the night. The last thing his ears heard was the sound of the Doctor shouting.

"Ianto!"


	7. The Snowmen Part 6

**Much of the dialogue taken directly from the show. Next up starts the real adventures, so please stay tuned, and thanks for reading!**

The Doctor couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he could barely think. The only thought running through his addled mind was _Ianto Ianto Ianto _as he forced himself to pull the controls that would let the TARDIS roam free again. He was barely aware of the tears falling down his pale cheeks as he moved his machine for the first time in what felt like a millennia.

He felt the familiar jolt that told him the TARDIS was headed through space once more, and was almost ashamed to find a slight smile on his face. He'd missed this. But there were more important matters to worry about at the current moment in time.

The police box made that familiar whirring noise as the Doctor felt it land onto solid ground once more, enveloping the body of Ianto Jones and bringing him back into the time machine. The Doctor dropped to his knees the moment the TARDIS landed, leaning over Ianto's limp body. Grabbing his wrist, he checked for a pulse.

_Thank God, _he nearly wept in relief as he felt the steady tick assuring him that the man was still very much alive. He had to refrain from staying with Ianto, however; he had to bring the TARDIS inside the estate before the snowmen realized that the blue police box did not belong in the back garden. Rising to his feet once more, he pulled the lever, and with the normal amount of shaking and rocking, he found the TARDIS had landed once more.

The Doctor swung open the door – His friends, along with Captain Latimer, Rhiannon, and the two young children, were staring at him, his friends and shock and Rhiannon with tears streaming down her face. She must have seen the fall and thought her brother was now deceased. The Doctor quickly turned back into the box and, heaving, picked Ianto's unconscious form up off the ground. The man was larger and heavier than he, but the Doctor managed to keep himself semi-upright as he lugged Ianto out the TARDIS door, where he was suddenly helped by Vastra, who grabbed Ianto's other side. The two of them were able to lift Ianto onto the empty tabletop in the room's center.

Rhiannon immediately ran to her brother, weeping. "Is he dead?" She asked, her voice muddled with grief as she touched Ianto's cheek.

"No," the Doctor sighed. "Not yet. Take a reading, Strax?" He knew perfectly well it wouldn't be a reading, but instead a way of reanimating Ianto for a short period of time, though he knew he had to pretend for the others' sake.

The Sontaran took his technologically advanced device and waved it over Ianto's body, shoving Rhiannon out of the way in order to do so. The woman glared at him, obviously disgruntled, but then returned her attention to her possibly dying brother.

Strax was still typing into his device when Rhiannon asked, grief filtering into her voice, "The green woman – She told us he was dead. How can he be alive now?"

"This device," Strax looked up defiantly at the man, "Has abilities and capacities beyond anything your miniscule human mind could even begin to comprehend. Try not to worry."

At those words, the Doctor slid back into the TARDIS. He had his own readings to tend to, he thought, grabbing his screwdriver from its place on the counsel, typing a series of commands into it as he looked on at the piece of ice he had found next to Ianto's body.

It was a piece of the ice woman herself, he knew that for certain. Examining it closely with his screwdriver, the results were made clear. The last remaining piece of the ice woman. He looked hard at it, but only for a moment before he rushed across the TARDIS floor and grabbed a pair of gauntlets, heading toward the room where he stored a supply of a certain creature.

As he returned to the counsel room, he slipped something large and squirming into a small tin. Stripping the gauntlets from his hands, he heard the door opening, and was about to turn and yell at whomever dared disturb him – But it was Vastra, looking worse for the wear after tonight's horrid events.

She walked up next to him when he didn't greet her. "Isn't the creature still a danger at hand?" She asked. "It could reform."

"No," the Doctor replied, still working with his screwdriver. "Not in here."

"Then you should be with Ianto Jones," the woman looked at him reproachfully.

"He'll be fine," the Doctor waved his hand, though a trickle of doubt appeared in the back of his mind. He ignored it, of course. "I know he's going to be fine. He has to."

"Doctor, that equipment…" Vastra hesitated as if she was afraid of what the repercussions of her next words would be. "It'll bring anyone back for a while. But not permanently."

"He has to be fine!" the Doctor slammed his screwdriver against the counsel and looked into Vastra's eyes. Her look pitied him. The Doctor hated pity. "I'm the one who got him involved in this mess; it'll be entirely my fault!"

"What is the point in blaming yourself?" Vastra touched his shoulder, but the Doctor shook it off instantaneously.

"I won't," the Doctor growled. "Not yet. Because he's going to live." He had to believe that the man with the kind blue eyes and the quirky half-smile would survive. He had to.

Vastra glared at him defiantly. The Doctor sighed wearily as she gestured out the TARDIS door. The Doctor was left with little other choice than to follow her out of the police box and into the study.

The residents of the room were all lined up along the far right side; all except Rhiannon, whose figure was leaning over her brother's. The moment she saw the Doctor, however, she moved backward to stand next to her two charges.

Handing the box with ice woman in it to Jenny without explanation, the Doctor tried to ignore all of the strange looks he was receiving from the other members of the household, and instead stepped forward and knelt next to Ianto. His eyes were open at the very least, and as he turned to look at the Doctor, that little half-smile made a reappearance on his features.

"Hello," the Doctor reached out a hand to trace down Ianto's cheek. He was cold – Oh, so very cold.

"They- " Ianto breathed, his words slow and weak, "They all think I'm going to die."

"But I _know _that you're going to live," the Doctor tried his best to give a reassuring smile.

"How?" Ianto's voice became even weaker.

"I don't know how," the Doctor said, echoing his words from earlier. "I just know who." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the TARDIS key that Ianto had received only moments before. Pressing it into the other man's palm, he squeezed Ianto's hand tightly, trying to issue some form of strength into him.

"Madame Vastra," Ianto's voice was almost ghost-like now. "She said that once upon a time, you were the saver of worlds. Can you save ours?"

The Doctor found himself gripping Ianto's hands even tighter as he gazed at the other man. "If I do, will you come away with me?" He asked, praying for the answer to be yes. He said that he'd never again have a companion, but the truth of the matter was, he needed one. He needed Ianto.

Ianto didn't even hesitate. "Of course."

"Well, then," the Doctor pressed a kiss to Ianto's hand as the injured man's eyes fluttered shut. "Merry Christmas, Ianto Jones."

Gripping Ianto's hand firmly in his own one last time, he released it and slowly stood to face his friends. Vastra and Jenny looked on at him steadily, awaiting his plan, with Strax at their right.

The Doctor adjusted his bowtie and strode toward Jenny, taking the box in her hands into his own. Without any explanation whatsoever, he marched out of the study and toward the front door. Opening it, Doctor Simeon was revealed, standing there, expressionless, obviously waiting for the consent of the house's residents to bring the ice woman to him. There were snowmen surrounding him, forming one by one the longer the Doctor stood there.

"I have in my hands," he waved the box madly above his head. "A piece of the ice woman! Everything you need to know about how to make ice. That's what you want isn't it?"

Doctor Simeon held out a hand, as if expecting to take the box from him right there and then, but the Doctor just smirked. "See you at the office!" He departed back into the house, slamming the door behind him in his wake.

Rushing at full speed, the Doctor ran back through the hallways and into the study, bypassing everyone else entirely, heading directly for his TARDIS. He spared a glance at Ianto, who looked as if he remained in the same condition as before – Not very good. But the Doctor couldn't allow himself to worry about that right now. He promised Ianto he would save the world, so save the world he shall.

Once in the TARDIS, he headed to the levers that controlled his destination. He was about to pull the necessary one when Vastra appeared in the doorway, shutting it firmly behind her as she walked purposefully toward him.

"So, Doctor?" A roguish grin appeared on her face. "Saving the world again, are we? Why the sudden change of heart?" Her face dawned in comprehension. "Are you making a _bargain _with the universe, saving the world to let him live?"

"Yes, and don't you think after all this time," the Doctor yelled as he rushed about in his counsel, preparing the police box for liftoff, "After everything I've done, I can be owed this one favor?"

"I don't think the universe does favors," the Doctor found himself with Vastra's green, scaly hands gripping his shoulders tightly, forcing him to face her. Her eyes were a fierce brown, glaring at him intently.

"It was my fault," the Doctor tried to pull away from her, but her grip remained firm. Her eyes suddenly began sparkling in delight.

"Well, then," her smile was vindictive. "I suppose we'll have to save the world."

* * *

The Doctor grinned, feeling somewhat victorious. The Intelligence had spoken, revealing its true identity, its reason for being, and now the Doctor knew exactly how to deal with the situation at hand. Glancing fondly at the small tin box with the map of the London Underground on it, he took a seat at Simeon's desk, kicking his feet up in the process.

Vastra stood to his right, and looked at him with a kind of pride in her eye. The Doctor was sure it was because she had finally won this sick little game of theirs.

There was suddenly a loud bang at the front door. Whirling around, the Doctor's sight was disgraced by the presence of the elderly Doctor Simeon, who marched toward him, eyes hard and glaring.

"You promised us something," Simeon snarled, voice dripping with venom.

"The big fellow," the Doctor gestured to the snow globe, which was still whirring, spinning its crystals all across its confined space, "Hasn't been very quiet while you were away, which is only to be expected, considering who he really is. Do you know what this, snowy?" He came up with the nickname on the spot as he strode toward the Intelligence, holding up his tin box.

"Can you not understand these markings?" The voice echoed.

"A map of the London Underground, 1967," the Doctor waved the box in Simeon's face, which looked highly disgruntled. "Key strategic witness to metropolitan living, if you want my humble opinion on the matter. But," he continued. "I've never liked to tunnel."

"We are powerful," the Intelligence began to speak again. "But on this planet, we are limited. We need to learn to take human form."

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pressed a small button on the screwdriver that was presently residing there. Now when the voice spoke again, it had changed.

"The governess in the pond," a child's voice, not the deep echoing voice from before, issued from the snow globe. "Is a perfect replication of humanity."

"What's happening to its voice?" Vastra asked, stepping forward, confusion riddling her features.

"Just stripping away the disguise," the Doctor replied smugly.

"What? What is this?" The voice sounded much less threatening now, all high and pitchy. "Cease this immediately! I command you!"

Doctor Simeon's face suddenly distorted into one of fear as the Doctor turned to face him. Stepping closer to the other doctor every second, the man's fright grew before his eyes.

"It sounds like a child's voice!" Vastra seemed to come to the realization.

"That's because it is a child's voice," the Doctor smiled vindictively at Simeon, who had shrunk back against the desk. "Simeon as a child. The snow is merely a reflection, it can't think for itself, so it has to come from somewhere else – Simeon. How long has the Intelligence been talking to you?"

"Since-" Simeon stammered. "Since I was a little boy. He was my snowman; he spoke to me."

"But snow doesn't talk," the Doctor said. "It just reflects everything we think, feel, and fear. You poured your darkest dreams into the snowman, and look what it became! Carnivorous snow meets Victorian values, and something terrible is born."

"We have more to plan!" The child's voice issued from the snow globe.

"Oh, yes, more plans," the Doctor chuckled darkly. "A world full of living ice people. How very Victorian of you."

"What's wrong with Victorian?" Simeon asked him, contempt growing in his voice, as he moved toward the Doctor. Vastra stepped forward, the sword on her back poised to attack, but the Doctor held up a hand. Instead, he turned to Simeon, box in his outstretched hand.

"Are you sure?"

"I have always been sure," Simeon grabbed the box out of his hands, and delved his hand inside. The Doctor's face lit up in triumph because instead of pulling out the shard of the ice woman, Simeon held the memory worm in his bare palm.

His eyes widened grotesquely, choking noises issuing from the back of his throat as he fell leaden against his own desk, keeling over onto the ground a moment later, the worm still touching his skin.

"Good," the Doctor replied. Vastra looked on in utter shock. "I'm glad you think so, since your entire adult life is about to be erased. No parasite can exist without a host," the Doctor kneeled next to the man's limp form. "Without you, no voice, and without the governess, no form."

"What's happening?" The child's voice inside the globe called out from behind him. Turning away from the body and standing fully upright, the Doctor noticed the snow still spinning. "What did you do?"

"You've got no one left to mirror anymore," the Doctor told it, lifting his arms out in triumph. "Farewell."

"Did – Did you –" The high-pitched child's voice suddenly transformed once more, into the same dark and foreboding tone it had used previously. The Doctor's smile dropped to the floor. "Did you really think it would be that simple?"

The Doctor gaped up at the thing. It was supposed to be gone – its host no longer had a memory, it could no longer exist. "That's not possible," he whispered. "How is that possible?"

"Doctor!" Vastra cried as a sudden whirring sound was suddenly brought into existence. Spinning on his heel to where Vastra was pointing, he saw that outside the open window, the snow was still blowing in the wind. He ran across to catch a glimpse, worry and fear growing in his mind by the second. Time was in flux, this could be the end of everything. The snowmen were outside, still forming by the second, their faces the epitome of terrifying.

The Doctor turned back to the Intelligence, his eyes growing wide. This was utterly impossible, so how did it exist?

"But you were just Doctor Simeon," He strode toward the snow globe, his confusion growing as fast as the snowmen outside. "Just a dream of his."

"And now the dream has outlived the dreamer," the Intelligence said darkly. "I can never die. Besides, I was the puppet."

"And now I hold the strings!" The Doctor spun around, gaping. Simeon was upright once more, his formerly pale skin now a frostbitten blue, his arms held out as if he really was attached to a puppet master high above him, controlling his every move. "And now I can take on human form. By erasing Simeon, you made space for me! I rule him now!"

Simeon lunged forward, but Vastra's sword was already wielded, held tightly in her scaly arms. However, Simeon brushed her aside in a simple stroke, throwing her to the ground and thus putting her out of commission. The Doctor rushed forward to defend himself, holding back Simeon as his iron grip tightened around the Doctor's arms.

"More than snow! More than Simeon! Even this old body is strong in my control!" Simeon, or rather, the Intelligence, shoved the Doctor to the ground. Attempting to rise, the Doctor was blocked by Simeon's weight on top of him. The creature's hand reached out to touch the Doctor's cheek. A sudden chill swept over his body and he felt his features freeze in place.

"Do you feel it?" He growled, making the Doctor feel even more freezing by the second. "Winter is coming!"

Suddenly, just as the Doctor felt as if he was about to freeze in place for all of eternity, Simeon's grasp upon him loosened and the creature fell back, gasping for air. The Doctor scrambled to his feet and looked at the thing, which was now gasping for breath.

"It – It's starting to rain!" Vastra gasped, pointing on the window. The Doctor followed her gaze to find she was correct. The snow had evaporated, and water was pouring from the heavens instead. The Doctor leaned over Simeon's body in time to see the man fall flat.

"He's dead," Vastra crawled over next to him to look over Simeon's body. "But how?"

"The snow is just a mirror," the Doctor said, almost in wonder. "It's mirroring something else now, something stronger; something that drowns everything else out." A realization began to dawn on him, and his mouth fell upon in surprise.

He ran across to the window, opening it and letting the rain pour in and land on his bare fingertips, wet and liquid. "There was a critical mass of snow at the house," he told Vastra, who had followed him. "So if something happened there…" He put his fingers in his mouth and acquired an odd taste. "Salty?"

"Salt water rain?" Vastra asked, forehead creased.

"It's not rain," the Doctor realized. "It's tears. The only force that could drown out the snow – A family crying on Christmas Eve. Ianto and Rhiannon are a family, they have no one else. If both of them were crying…"

The Doctor, not entirely realizing his actions, left the window and the rain behind, instead running at full speed across the ruined office to where the TARDIS was parked, Vastra immediately behind him. Starting her up once more, he whirred the box into life, and sending the command to take her back to the Latimer estate.

Moments later, the familiar sound of the TARDIS landing graced his ears. Wasting no time whatsoever, he banged open the doorway to find the others all in similar positions to how they were left. Rhiannon's cheeks were tear-ridden, and Ianto – Ianto was laying there, unmoving.

The Doctor turned to Strax, hoping and praying that this was simply a precursor to Ianto awakening once more, but Strax's expression was grim.

"There was nothing to be done," the Sontaran's eyes didn't quite meet the Doctor's. "He has only moments left."

The Doctor stepped forward slowly before kneeling next to the man, who looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes.

"You saved the world, Jones, Ianto Jones," the Doctor took his hand once more. It wasn't cold any longer. "All you."

"Are you going back to your cloud?" Ianto's voice was less than a murmur.

"Not now," The Doctor shook his head.

"Good," Ianto's eyes closed even more. Tears formed in the Doctor's eyes. He didn't want the man to leave. He'd only known Ianto for a short time, but damn him if it didn't feel like years. "Doctor…" Ianto continued speaking. "I know where I've heard Retcon before."

The Doctor smiled sadly. "Don't worry about that now. Just rest."

"No, it's important," Ianto's words were less than a whisper. The Doctor had to lean forward even further to hear him speak, and it was a good thing he had. "Torchwood Three, Cardiff. Twenty-first century."

The Doctor's mouth fell open in a perfect O, and he looked down at Ianto Jones – There had been a Ianto Jones at Torchwood Three, he knew, he had been a part of Jack's team – in complete and utter shock.

"Tell Jack something, would you?" Ianto's words were like those of a ghost. "Tell him..." He trailed off, and his mouth moved no more.

The Doctor didn't move for a moment, for the thoughts racing through his head were that of a mad man. How – Impossible – Ianto Jones of Torchwood Three was dead. This was not possible. Not in the slightest, and yet here it was.

"Doctor?" Rhiannon's voice shook from the corner. "What – What did he say?"

"It was the same man," the Doctor stood up, releasing Ianto's unmoving hand to face the others, all of which looked as if they had no clue what had just happened. "The same man that worked for Torchwood. I remember him – I saw him once – The same man, dead twice."

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Vastra asked him, her features those of confusion.

"Ianto Jones is an impossibility!" The Doctor began to smile, suddenly overcome with immense joy and relief. "Dead twice! He can't exist. But he does!" He laughed in delight as he ran to the TARDIS. Life, suddenly, didn't seem like such a chore. There was something new, something that didn't make sense – And the Doctor had to know what it was.

"Where are you going?" Vastra blocked him from entering the police box with her own lithe, slender body.

"To find Ianto Jones!" The Doctor's grin, if possible, grew even wider. "I'm going to find him, and when I do, it is going to be _extraordinary_!"

With those words, he flung open the door to his TARDIS. Rushing to the counsel, he did the necessary set of commands that would move him into a time two centuries from now – A time he knew he could find the man he was looking for.

"So, Jones, Ianto Jones," the Doctor's excitement overcame him. "Let's find out who you are."


	8. London's Ghosts Part 1

It was nearly Christmas, and Ianto Jones was kneeling in an empty graveyard, all alone, in the dead of night.

It would have been a bit more societally acceptable if he had been visiting the gravesite of a family member or a dear friend, but that wasn't the case. The grave he knelt in front of was one that dated all the way back to the 1800s. There was literally no point or excuse in him being out in the cold London air that night.

And yet he was. Rubbing his hands together to keep them warm, Ianto squinted at the name on the gravestone – It was his own. Not a relative of his, to the best of his knowledge, just the same name. Ianto Jones. He didn't know why he had been drawn to the gravesite; he had just needed to get away, for a variety of reasons.

His main issue was that London was sucking the life out of him. He'd been here for only three days and was suffocating from the overpopulated, expensive city. His sister Rhiannon, along with her husband Johnny, were moving back to Wales after quite a few years down in England for Johnny's work. They were headed back to Cardiff as soon as the holidays were said and done, and had asked Ianto to help them pack.

He agreed, though reluctantly, and as soon as his university had let out for winter break, he headed down to England. Rhiannon, although she meant well, was not a part of Ianto's idea of a perfect Christmas. She was overbearing and protective and Ianto felt endlessly awkward around her. Nonetheless, here he was, on Christmas Eve, sneaking out of his sister's home for a walk in the cold night air and ending up in a cemetery.

Ianto didn't even pretend to understand his reasoning on the subject. He gave up his attempts to properly interpret his thoughts and actions years ago.

"Hello."

A voice rang out from behind him, its loud cheerfulness a direct contrast to the darkened home of the dead. Ianto turned his head to see a man, dressed peculiarly in a long, purple overcoat and top hat, with childlike features and long brown hair slightly curled behind his ears.

"I'm sorry," Ianto rose to his feet, wiping the traces of snow from his jeans. "Uh, did you…?" He trailed off, gesturing towards the other Jones's gravestone. The man seemed to get his point, for he smiled.

"Oh, no," he shook his head. "I just wanted to say hi. Hi!" He waved his hand.

"Oh, erm, hello to you as well," Ianto tried not to stammer. He wasn't an expert in the art of meeting new people, and often came across awkwardly. "Nice to make your acquaintance."

The man chuckled, tipping his top hat in Ianto's direction. "And you, Jones, Ianto Jones."

"How – How do you know my name?" Ianto asked, mystified as to whom this mysterious strange might be.

"Let's just say that we were friends once," the man had a strange look in his eyes. "Or will be. I'm not entirely certain."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are or what you're talking about," Ianto tried not to let any fear filter into his voice. The man had begun to speak like a psychopath fresh out of a mental asylum.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The man held out a hand as if to shake. "I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor?" Ianto's polite nature overtook him and he took the man's hand. It was slightly smaller than his, and numbingly cold. "Doctor who?"

"That's the magic question," the Doctor winked one of his hazel eyes infuriatingly.

Ianto stared at the other man, wondering whether he should continue speaking or try to run away in the opposite direction. However, his inquisitive nature gave him no choice but to continue speaking. "A bit of a prestigious title you have there, you know. I mean, you speak as if you're the only person in all of history with a medical degree."

Ianto expected the Doctor to be offended or, at the very least, slightly miffed at his comment. It was quite the contrary that occurred. The man's grin began to encompass his entire face. "You're sarcastic, too!" He sounded quite delighted. "Oh, that's brilliant!"

"What's the matter with you?" Ianto's disoriented feelings about the whole situation started bubbling up and spewing out around him. He didn't enjoy not knowing things, and this Doctor fellow obviously knew something that he did not. And that made Ianto unnecessarily angry.

"Ianto Jones," the Doctor stepped forward, snow crunching under his feet as he did so, eyes sparkling with excitement. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

Of all the things Ianto was expecting to hear, his plan for the holidays was not one of them. It didn't even make the list of the top one hundred ideas he had considered popping out of the Doctor's mouth. It caught him so off-guard that he answered truthfully. "I – I'm spending it in London with my sister and her family." Ianto cursed himself slightly. He was usually a brilliant, accomplished liar. So why the hell was he telling the truth to a strange man that claimed to know him from somewhere?

"Do you _want_ to spend Christmas with them?"

Ianto looked at the Doctor with incredulity. He wasn't sure what he was so unbelievably confused about – The fact that there was a possible lunatic asking him questions about the holidays, or that anyone actually cared about what went on in the brain of Ianto Jones.

"Not particularly," his forehead creased as he gazed at the other man. "Don't see how that matters to you, though."

"Of course it matters!" The Doctor's smile never faltered as he reached forward and, shocking Ianto once more that night, grabbed his hand tightly in his own. "Because you could spend it with me."

"Erm," Ianto stammered, pulling his hand away quickly and trying to regain his composure. "Is this an attempt at flirting? Because if so, you're coming across as slightly stalker-like and, if I'm honest, a bit creepy."

"No, of course it's not _flirting_!" the Doctor scoffed, waving a hand dismissively as Ianto's heart rate returned to normal. "My wife would kill me in thirty different ways. She flirts enough for the two of us." His brown eyes met Ianto's baby blues as they lit up once more. "I was simply suggesting that you, Ianto Jones, want more out of life than a dull, dead-end career, working at a nine-to-five pace, with a couple of annoying, bratty kids to take care of."

"And this has what to do with Christmas?" Ianto couldn't help but let his sarcastic side shine through once more. The Doctor's smile turned mischievous and Ianto's eyes darted about the winter wonderland of a cemetery, looking for possible escape routes in case the man really was a psychopath.

"What would you say if I told you I had something special," the Doctor began, his eyes twinkling. "Something very, very special – A box that could travel anywhere throughout time and space, regardless of physical boundaries. Would you come along for a ride?"

Ianto studied the other man for a moment before declaring "I'd say you're a lunatic."

"Eh," the Doctor tilted his hand back and forth. "Maybe a little bit of lunacy in this old head of mine, but I'm not kidding about this time. Would you come?" He looked at Ianto expectantly, and for the first time, Ianto saw a shadow of something in the man's eyes – Of what, he wasn't certain. Doubt? Fear?

"If it was real, then maybe," Ianto put his hand on the cold, hard grave the bore his name as he slowly edged away from the man. However, he was far too intrigued to run now, even if every inch of his body was screaming at him to do just that. "Which it can't be."

"But it is!" the Doctor's eyes were dancing in an odd, feverish way. "She's called the TARDIS. That stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space, in case you were wondering. And I think she'd like you very much."

"You…I…this is insane!" Ianto spluttered, tripping backward slightly in an attempt to force himself to move away from the brown-haired man. Trying not to let his voice shake, he commanded "Leave me alone, alright?"

The Doctor's face fell, the smile that Ianto had grown accustomed to drooping off his features in one fluid motion. "C'mon, at least let me show you!" There was a pleading tone in his voice. "If I show you and you still don't want to come, I'll let you go without any interference. But you have to at least see!"

"No," Ianto shook his head firmly. "I…I have to go." He turned away, prepared to stumble into the night and back to Rhiannon's, leaving the cemetery behind, when a voice called out to him. A strangely familiar voice.

"He's telling the truth, you know."

Ianto swiveled back around slowly at the sound of a smooth baritone with a Welsh accent. He nearly fell to the ground in shock at the sight that was before his eyes, for there, standing directly in front of him, was a carbon copy of himself, Ianto Jones. Ianto attempted to take in a breath, but found that the air around him seemed to be closing in as if it wanted to choke him.

This Ianto gave him a half-smile, one that Ianto himself had given many times before. Finding that he had air in his lungs once again, he took a deep, shuddering breath. "What – How…?"

"Ianto Jones," the Doctor whispered reverently, stepping toward the other Ianto with wonder and shock shining in his eyes. "How is this possible?"

"It almost isn't," Ianto's double gave a slight chuckle. "I've had to travel a long way to talk to you, Doctor. I'm dead, after all. Well," he added thoughtfully. "For now."

"For now?" The Doctor gazed at him, eyes unblinking. "What do you mean for now?"

"What about," the real Ianto breathed. "How it's even possible that there are _two of me standing here_?"

"That's a surprise," the duplicate turned to him, a wry smile gracing his features. "Wouldn't want to spoil the ending for you."

"But how are you here?" The Doctor asked, reaching out an arm to touch the other Ianto's shoulders. Much to his and the real Ianto's shock, his hand passed directly through the man, as if he was transparent. "Or, should I say, how is your image here?"

"I'm a free-floating spirit made from ectoplasm," Ianto explained. "What you would call a ghost."

"There's no such thing as ghosts," Ianto tried not to stumble over his words. "And even if there was, I'm still alive."

"Sometimes you're alive, sometimes you're dead," the other Ianto shrugged his shoulders. "Time travel is very confusing."

"But wait," the Doctor began again, seeming to have been struck by an idea. "How do you know about time travel? I don't think I told you about time travel back in the 1800s. Did I?"

"1800s?" The non-ghost Ianto asked before finding a realization. The grave he'd been looking at, the grave that this Ianto was standing upon had his name on it. Ianto Jones – And he had died in the 1890s. It was only then that Ianto noticed the peculiar clothing choice of his doppelganger. A suit and waistcoat duo complete with a top hat to match the Doctor's. How had he not seen that sooner?

"Where we met," the Doctor informed him. "Well, sort of. So how do you know about time travel?"

"Because I know what he knows," the ghost gestured over to his sold counterpart. "Or what he will know."

"I'm very confused," Ianto said.

"So am I," the Doctor added, frowning. "And I'm never confused because I'm a genius. I know almost everything about the universe, but I don't have any idea what the hell you are, Ianto Jones."

"I am something of an oddity," the ghost laughed quietly. "But you'll figure it out eventually."

"Wait," Ianto unstuck his throat. "What's so special about me? I'm nothing."

"What would make you say that?" The Doctor looked truly confused as he turned his attention away from the ghost. "You're brilliant, Ianto Jones. Why do you think I asked you to come away with me?"

"I – I don't know," Ianto forced himself to speak. "You're lonely and desperate?"

For a moment, Ianto thought he saw the Doctor's vision grow darker and more downcast, but it seemed to simply be his imagination, for when he blinked, the other man's eyes had returned to normal. He had opened his mouth as if to reply, but Ianto's ghost cut him off.

"I have to go."

"What?" The Doctor swiveled around, eyes dancing wildly. "Where? Why?"

"They're coming," the ghost said, looking afraid, his eyes darting about the nearly empty cemetery.

"Who's coming?" The Doctor's eyes followed the ghost's.

"The others." Fear was laced into Ianto's every word. "I had to break a few rules to get here, Doctor. And now they're coming to bring me back."

"What do you mean?" The Doctor's orbs were unblinkingly shocked.

"The rest of the ghosts," the ghost told him. "If I don't leave, they'll get me. But if I do manage to make it out of here, they'll come after you. Next best thing, you know?"

"Wait, what?" Ianto asked his double, now panicked. "Come after us?"

"I can't let them take me," the ghost said. "You'll understand why someday. Besides, I remember this all clearly. I leave now." He turned to the Doctor, a smile lighting his face. "Good luck, Doctor. And goodbye for now."

The ghost of Ianto faded into the oblivion of the night. The Doctor and the real Ianto were left staring at the place it had dissolved with matching expressions of incredulity on their faces. Then the Doctor looked up, something mysterious glittering in his eyes.

"You're a bit more impossible than even I planned, Ianto Jones," he said with a chuckle. "Utterly mad."

"What's going on?" Ianto ran a hand through his dark hair. "I want it explained to me right now, because I'm going crazy."

"I couldn't tell you," the Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said – Utterly mad."

"Then can you at least tell me what…what _he_," Ianto refused to refer to the ghost as himself, "meant by the other ghosts coming after us?"

The Doctor opened his mouth as if to respond to the question at hand, but he was cut off by a quiet pop that echoed throughout the graveyard. Ianto looked around the cemetery, gaping, for he and the Doctor were now completely surrounded by an array of people, all appearing as if from nowhere, standing upon their own customary grave marker, each of them looking directly at the two men in the center.

"Shit," Ianto whispered, making eye contact with the Doctor, who suddenly looked like a mix of excitement and of apprehension.

"Ianto," he began. "I think we should run."


End file.
